Poll: Who still watches Extra Credits?

[370999]

I do. I agree with others that the gaming addiction epsiodes were, well, crap. But as a whoel it''s good. Yeah preachy and full of itself but meh, still informative and deductive.

 

[Wolfram23]

They still make episodes? Where? Just YouTube or what?

 

[Jandau]

I watch every episode. It's a great show and I'm glad it's still on. I try not to pass judgement regarding the EC/Escapist brakeup since I've heard compelling arguments from both sides and don't care about it enough to try and dig deeper. Shit happened, it's sad, I love both the show and the site, so I just enjoy both.

That being said, what I'd like to know is why ENN left The Escapist. For those of you who may have missed it, ENN didn't disappear. It moved to Penny Arcade TV (where Extra Credits is now) under the name Checkpoint. What puzzles me is that the people making it (Graham, Kathleen, etc.) are all still doing stuff on The Escapist, so it's not like there was some huge falling out there as well. Then why the hell did ENN move?

 

[jFr[e]ak93]

To be honest. I loved the show, but always forget it exists since they left. I may have watched it once or twice, but past that, it just isn't happening.

 

[Thaius]

I don't watch them the moment they release anymore, but that's just because Penny Arcade's media player doesn't run as well on my computer for some reason; it takes a bit longer to load movies on there than it does on The Escapist, and my internet sucks as it is, so I wait until I have a while to load them. But I do watch it. It still offers the most brilliant analysis of video games out there.

And honestly... that's a disgustingly wrong interpretation of that episode. How terrible games had been for him? That was a heartfelt and painfully honest discussion of what can go wrong when a person makes video games a higher priority than everything else in their life. Did you even see the episode before that? They made it clear that video games are a force for good, an amazing medium that can do incredible things, not some addictive drug, but James shared his experiences from when he made them a little too important. I can't understand how you could possibly think he "hijacked" two episodes to talk about how terrible games were. That was two episodes for some heartfelt sharing of his personal experience and the mistakes that he made, and all the normal properties of the show have been back in every episode since. That's hardly a reason to completely stop watching the internet's most intelligent commentary on games as a medium and a cultural phenomenon.

 

[AdmiralMemo]

Well, I watch it each week, though I was late to the party on the move to Penny Arcade, since I kind of stopped watching Escapist videos in January 2011 and only picked back up some time in August. I see 3 points divergence in the thread so far: still watching them, stopping when EC left the Escapist (due to either not caring enough, not knowing where they went, or feeling they were in the wrong with the debacle), and not liking the 1 (ONE!) episode on Game Compulsion where James pours his heart and soul out. Now, I don't know if I'm just different, but I absolutely loved the Game Compulsion episode, probably due to relating to them so much. Would I want to see James sitting in front of the camera like that each week? No. However, it is still one of the best episodes in my book. People are saying that episode is "preachy" but that's not the case. That episode is biased, but, of course, they warned you about that in the beginning of the episode.

Nope, they get like over 100k for Allison surgery and right after that they complain about not getting money and say "Well we're keeping all this money, but we're gonna bail now so fuck you". Could be interesting to watch no doubt, be I'm not doing that on principle.

Pretty much this, I've watched some of their episodes since but I haven't shaken the feeling of betrayal after I contributed along with countless other Escapists, then they left this site for no reason (the Escapist backed down, paid them and said they could keep the money). Plus I felt the show went downhill while it was here as they ran out of good topics to talk about.

Question: How much proof do either of you have that the Escapist paid them or not? Escapist said "We paid you!" and James said "We haven't received it!" That's all you've got. One word against the other. (In theory, but unlikely, both could be right. Escapist could have sent the money, but it got stuck in some intermediary.) Also, the Escapist only "backed down" when James got a lawyer involved. Also, that was the point when we found out that LeeLee (Name Game) hadn't gotten all of the money she was owed, along with the the guy from Unforgotten Realms not getting his money until 14 months after he left. Lisa Foiles, JimTopia (Creature Caster Masters) and JP Sherman (First Person Marketer) also got burned by the Escapist.

(Collected source of information: http://www.examiner.com/video-game-culture-in-new-york/extra-credits-leaves-escapist )

I watched every episode before they left, but when the whole ordeal happened I lost a lot of respect for them. I felt that asking for more money than what Allison needed for her surgery was not very professional, even if they were not profiting from it. Since I watched their show because I respected their ideas, the moment that respect started slipping I didn't bother following them.

They had the problem because they couldn't shut down the fund once they'd raised the appropriate amount of money, as Daniel said here [http://ocremix.org/forums/showpost.php?p=801500&postcount=433]. They weren't asking for $100,000. They only asked for the $20,000 needed for Allison's surgery. They absolutely did not expect so much to come in, and would have shut it down once the amount was raised, if the could have.

Nope, they get like over 100k for Allison surgery and right after that they complain about not getting money and say "Well we're keeping all this money, but we're gonna bail now so fuck you". Could be interesting to watch no doubt, be I'm not doing that on principle.

If you did watch the episodes after the incident, you would know that they are using the left over money to publish games from small independent studios. Sure, if they will succeed is another question, but they aren't holding it for themselves.

Sounds exactly like they're holding it for themselves. They've used excess donation money to start their own business with absolutely no accountability to the people who donated. They could use that money for absolutely anything and you wouldn't know. Plus, it sounds like a doomed venture anyway.

A donation is not an exchange. If someone needs 100 dollars and you give him 1000 out of the goodness of your heart, you DO NOT dictate, or try to dictate, what he does with'em. That would just be petty.

Even if they then decide to use that money for a completely different purpose than what you originally thought? It's pretty dodgy when that new purpose turns out to be commercial too.

Then they raised $100,000 from contributions under the pretense of paying for a medical procedure, pay for it and give Allison Theus a small amount to pay bills, and use the rest to start a company. I have a feeling a lot fewer people would have donated if they had said "We are going to use any surplus (what is surplus will be defined by us) for our own gain".

Dudes! They asked the Extra Credits community [http://extracurricular.tk/site/] what was to be done with the extra money before they went ahead with the "Indie Games Studio" idea. Also, the idea may be "commercial" to an extent, but they're not making money off of it.

I don't. I really liked them on YouTube, then they came here and their show just changed. Before it was about things like women in gaming, then it just strated to feel like something for the "games are art" people. Watched some here but didn't feel the same, so I stopped caring.

I support them for leaving the Escapist, but I don't miss the show.

Wait... You mean you want things like this episode [http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/true-female-characters]? Once they did the "Uncanny Valley [http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/the-uncanny-valley]" episode, they had recreated all of the pre-Escapist YouTube episodes.

Where's the goddamned voice acting episode!?

They mentioned in their Desert Bus interview [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRyKYSa1jaU] that they're still working on getting actual voice actors for that episode.

However I'm intruiged by the videos that OP mentions. I think the fact that some people can become addicted to games to a debilitating degree is something that people should be aware of. For a show that loves to preach about how videogames are the emerging artistic medium of our time, I can appreciate that they addressed the negative effects that gaming can have.

That would be these [http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/game-addiction-pt.1] two [http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/game-addiction-pt.2] episodes. In the second, prepare yourself for a total shift in style, genre, and length.

I never got to watch it; a shame.
I could have gotten at least 2 achievements

Yeah. I shouldn't have taken that time off from watching the videos here, or else I would have gotten more badges.

Watched it when it was available here, no idea where it is now.

I wondered where extra credits went, I will check it out on the tube later on.

I haven't watched the show in awhile myself... maybe I should try to find it again, I did enjoy it when it was on the Escapist...

i watchd it when it was here no idea were it went so no

They still make episodes? Where? Just YouTube or what?

Here you go: http://penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits

Unskippable, I can't remember the names of the guys who do that and deeply apologize

That would be Graham Stark and Paul Saunders of LoadingReadyRun [http://loadingreadyrun.com/], who also do LoadingReadyRun [http://new.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/loadingreadyrun] (of course), ENN [http://new.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-news-network]/CheckPoint [http://penny-arcade.com/patv/show/checkpoint], and Feed Dump [http://new.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/feed-dump], and who did the Daily Drop [http://new.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/daily-drop]. They also do Desert Bus for Hope [http://desertbus.org/] every year, which raised over $378,000 for Child's Play this year.

That being said, what I'd like to know is why ENN left The Escapist. For those of you who may have missed it, ENN didn't disappear. It moved to Penny Arcade TV (where Extra Credits is now) under the name Checkpoint. What puzzles me is that the people making it (Graham, Kathleen, etc.) are all still doing stuff on The Escapist, so it's not like there was some huge falling out there as well. Then why the hell did ENN move?

It wasn't getting the views that the Escapist wanted for it. This is why the last couple of episodes changed the format up, to see if a new style would draw people back. It didn't, so the Escapist dropped the show. It wasn't on bad terms, and Penny Arcade brought it back because they thought that the views it was getting were enough for them, even if it wasn't enough for the Escapist.

Second, if you actually think people would give up on Yahtzee for one video where he didn't talk fast, use triple cunted hooker jokes, and use cheap animation, you're crazy.

Especially since Yahtzee already did that [http://new.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/27-Uncharted-Drakes-Fortune] (though not for a whole episode), and people still watch Zero Punctuation.

 

[Comrade_Beric]

I watch every episode. It's a great show and I'm glad it's still on. I try not to pass judgement regarding the EC/Escapist brakeup since I've heard compelling arguments from both sides and don't care about it enough to try and dig deeper. Shit happened, it's sad, I love both the show and the site, so I just enjoy both.

That being said, what I'd like to know is why ENN left The Escapist. For those of you who may have missed it, ENN didn't disappear. It moved to Penny Arcade TV (where Extra Credits is now) under the name Checkpoint. What puzzles me is that the people making it (Graham, Kathleen, etc.) are all still doing stuff on The Escapist, so it's not like there was some huge falling out there as well. Then why the hell did ENN move?

Escapist ended ENN because the Escapist was short on cash and needed to cut a few shows (like Lisa Foiles' show). Second, ENN wasn't as popular around here as you might think. Months later, PA came to the LRR guys and asked if they'd be willing to do a show for them. LRR thought it would be a cool idea and asked what PA wanted. The guys at PA said something to the tune of "Well, we really liked ENN, could you do that?" LRR then turned to the Escapist and asked if that would be alright. Russ Pitts said something to the tune of "Sure, I mean, we cancelled the show, so there's no hard feelings if you can find another sponsor for it."

And, thus, CPt was born. ENN didn't "leave" and PA wasn't trying to headhunt them away from the Escapist. ENN was cancelled and the show was dead for months before PA approached the team about making a replacement on their site instead. It isn't a competition. There's no reason LRR can't work for both sites.

 

[karkar]

The episodes range from mildly interesting to incredibly thought-provoking for me, so they're always worth watching for me. Although I do agree that the gaming addiction episodes were kinda weak.

 

[AdmiralMemo]

Escapist ended ENN because the Escapist was short on cash and needed to cut a few shows (like Lisa Foiles' show).

Note: They dropped Lisa's show without paying her what she was owed. I don't know if they've finally paid her or not yet.

 

[JoJo]

Question: How much proof do either of you have that the Escapist paid them or not? Escapist said "We paid you!" and James said "We haven't received it!" That's all you've got. One word against the other. (In theory, but unlikely, both could be right. Escapist could have sent the money, but it got stuck in some intermediary.) Also, the Escapist only "backed down" when James got a lawyer involved. Also, that was the point when we found out that LeeLee (Name Game) hadn't gotten all of the money she was owed, along with the the guy from Unforgotten Realms not getting his money until 14 months after he left. Lisa Foiles, JimTopia (Creature Caster Masters) and JP Sherman (First Person Marketer) also got burned by the Escapist.

(Collected source of information: http://www.examiner.com/video-game-culture-in-new-york/extra-credits-leaves-escapist )

Ummm... what? It's not one word against another any more, we know what happened now:

1) James allowed Escapist to owe money since they were tight on cash
2) Due to the Alison issue EC raised $100000 approx from community
3) Escapist wanted a share of the cash raised
4) James said no and got into an argument about the owed money
5) Escapist paid up everything they owed but EC left anyway

I blame EC because the Escapist backed down from their demands and paid what they owed, but EC still left anyway. If they really cared about their fans they wouldn't have jumped ship so fast.

 

[Sandytimeman]

I still watch it, I also disliked the gaming addiction episode but I love the show. One of my normal wednesday staples. (along with Nostalgia Critic, and ZP)

 

[blizzaradragon]

*raises flameshield* Something tells me I'm gonna need this for the comment I'm about to make.

Well since I watched it once or twice and found it to be the most boring, preachy, obnoxious pile of drivel I've ever had the misfortune of watching, I'm gonna say not only do I not watch it when it was here but I'm actually glad it left.

I have no problems with people watching it. After all I'm not THAT much of an asshole. But when it was here people would not leave me alone about watching the show and how something must be wrong with my brain for not enjoying it and/or agreeing with what they say. It was infuriating to say the least.

 

[Dogstile]

I hardly watched it when it was on the Escapist, only really watched it when I had a uni assignment due. I thought it was quite a preachy boring show to be honest (in my opinion). Jimquisition is a humorous alternative methinks

Don't forget pretentious too.

Oh agreed. I was absolutely fine until they started acting like their opinion was the only one that mattered and anyone else was wrong on principle. So not any more OP, I liked them, but they changed into something horrible for me.

*cue fan telling me i'm wrong for not liking it* <seriously, if you're going to argue it, keep it civil please and don't expect a reply till like, sunday. I'll be gone till then.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Still watch it every week. I appreciated when James took the risk of discussing something that was obviously very painful to him in a very public fashion. Still the best info for aspiring game devs on the internet.

The reason they aren't discussed here anymore is because since they aren't on this site they really aren't as relevant (honestly how often do you see single non-Escpist or game related subject discussed on a regular basis here). Gamers also tend to have short term memory loss in that if it ceases to be something they see often it kind of fades. Remember game dogs? Yeah some people had completely forgotten until I mentioned it just now.

 

[Amaror]

After a massive out pour of support back when the schism first happened, I have noticed a gradual drop-off of people mentioning the show. I'm curious to know if this is because people have simply stopped talking about it, or have people actually stopped watching EC?

Personally, I watched the show religiously every week when they were here and I did follow them to Youtube, but I got massively turned off of the show when James hijacked two whole episodes to talk about how he used to play games so much that he didn't function as a human being. The humor was gone, the intelligence was gone, the whole show had become a forum for James to lecture us about how terrible games had been for him... I have not watched a single episode since. What about you guys? Are you still watching the show or did you lose interest?

(Here's hoping for a poll that doesn't get eaten [Edit: huzzah!])

You know that this episode was a special one and that it was a one time think, right?
Besides it wasn't two episodes it was one, but on two videos because of the time limit of youtube or somethink like that.
They're still just the same, watch any episode after the second one of video game addiction adn you will see that.
Besides he didn't sayd that video games were bad for him (He WORKS in the video game industry), he just said that video games CAN appeal too much and can cost too much time, if a person is having problems with his normal life.

 

[gideonkain]

I was wondering about them, I found them again on Penny Arcade and caught up on the back episodes I missed, but oneday they were on the Escapist the next they weren't, was there some kinda falling out?

 

[i7omahawki]

No, simply because there was a gigantic decline in the quality of the episodes in the first month. And I remember getting really annoyed about how they based about three episodes on the idea that games aren't addictive.

Which is totally wrong according to the evidence. Which is when I lost respect for their opinions & stopped watching.

Did you even watch that show?

They differentiated between ADDICTION (as in physical addiction, like nicotine, alcohol, heroine chemical dependancies) to COMPULSION. Which is a very important distiction to make. Games are addictive in the sense that people continue to play them in ways which are destructive to their everyday lives, but they don't do so because games contain certain chemicals. They are psychologically addictive, absolutely not physically addictive. Hence the word 'Compulsion' which dispels the easy-to-make confusion.

Any behaviour at all can be compulsive, you can be compelled to wash your hands over and over, watch TV all day, masturbate, eat toilet paper, anything. But these behaviours are different from smoking a cigarette, which directly interferes with the synapses between nerve endings, causing a biological, physical addiction to a substance. Obviously these two are different, and that is what the entire episode was about.

TL;DR? Well then, watch the goddamn episode next time before whining.

 

[silversnake4133]

I still find their material mentally stimulating, so whenever they post a new episode on Penny Arcade's website every Wednesday, I happily tune in. Just because they left the Escapist doesn't mean that their content had devalued. :3

 

[MeatsOfEvil]

Honest answer - I had no idea they continued to exist afterwards. Once I saw this thread I immediately subscribed on youtube.

 

[Dendio]

It was a disservice to the escapist community to just up and leave after we donated so much money to keep their show alive and fund medical operations for their artist. They just took our money and left for greener pastures. Lets see the penny arcade community support them the way we did...