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Cup of Jones - March 25, 2019 (Patreon)

Published:
2019-03-25 16:56:13
Edited:
2019-11-29 01:12:01
Imported:
2021-08
⚑ Flagged

Content

We made it through our busy anniversary week, and some things definitely didn't go as planned. All of you have been incredibly supportive and understanding during the process. I'd like to be as honest as I can today about some of the frustrating steps in bringing you the Mysterious Monster Mash. While I like learning from mistakes, and working to make the next go-around easier and better overall, this process was especially trying. The good news is, none of this takes away from how amazing our community was this weekend, in person and online. Thank you for your patience and feedback.

- Brandon

Files

Cup of Jones - March 25, 2019

Your weekly Cup of Jones!

Comments

Anonymous

Great show, thanks for premiering it on Twitch.

Anonymous

Here's a dumb backseat business question from someone with no experience crowdfunding: When I look at a kickstarter, the minimum tier is usually just a 'show your support' tier with no expected reward. While I don't think that this is a good idea for the EZA patreon, since you already filled the minimum pledge with an actual reward, have you ever considered putting in a $2 tier with no actual reward above the $1? The idea would be to encourage additional support.

Anonymous

Brandon! (You don't necessarily have to read this on the show)I think I recognize the sound artifact occurring during Cup of Jones lately that I believe people are complaining about when they criticize the audio quality. While I think Mic is fine I think the issue has to do with your PC, most directly I think that your PC's pre-installed anti-virus software may be the culprit. When I first got my PC awhile back I kept hearing this annoying compression sound while watching videos and it was driving me insane. It turns out it was McAphee Netguard causing the problem. I went into the settings and turned it off and the problem disappeared. Perhaps this is what is causing the strange sound? I think I remember you saying that you're using a brand new pc so perhaps this is what is causing that strange sound. I would even recommend completely un-installing the pre-installed anti-virus software and just using the free Microsoft Security Essentials if you felt comfortable with that. Just my two cents, I hope this helps. L&R

Anonymous

Will you ever release the Mysterious Monsters game for patrons or everyone so they can play at home?

Anonymous

Hi Jone Jones, I really love Mysterious Monsters. How often can we expect a new episode? Is there a structured schedule around the filming and releasing? Thanks.

Anonymous

Hey, Jones. I recall you saying months back that either when you got into the studio or after your third anniversary (can't remember which), you all would be looking at the show lineup you have and seeing what needs changed, what needs to go, etc. Fast forward to now, and all of the shows are running basically in the same way they were before, and nothing has gone away. Was the decision to change or remove shows ultimately thrown out, or is that still something that will be happening? Some of the weekly/monthly shows simply do not get a lot of views and never have, except on a few episodes. People are afraid of change, but I think that sometimes change is beneficial and can make way for something new and exciting.

Anonymous

Persona question for you Jones. Ann or Makoto?

Brandon K Gann

Hey Mr. Jones! The announcements from the Anniversary were fantastic across the board, particularly Mysterious Monsters being an insta-hit. As a matter of fact, I agree with the assessment regarding the Retros, but I was curious: What was the moment it was decided they would be taken down as a goal? At a monthly meeting? Did an Ally look at another and just say, “This isn’t feasible right now?”, or most likely was it just the kind of thing everyone knew, but took too long to say out loud? Don’t get me wrong, I love the Retros, and while at time of this writing there have only been two released under the EZA banner, there’s always YouTube. I’m excited for what could come in its place, especially when we have the likes of Mysterious Monsters and Box Peek to name a couple of examples. Finally, thanks for laying out the issues regarding how Tommy’s Place failed and personally speaking, it seemed you were completely in the right, doing everything EZA could to make it work. It saddens me to hear you became physically ill because of a third party impacting any Easy Allies operation. Anyway, thanks again for reading my paragraph, and have a wonderful rest of your day! CHEERS!!!

Anonymous

Hey Jones! The name is Daf Gape (pronunciation: Daf sounds like Davv, rhymes with 'have') My business question: I have recently founded a game dev studio, Novella Soft, and refitted my patreon account to a Creator account for it. However, in no way does my Easy Allies pledge have anything to do with it. I've been off and on pledging since EZA's conception whereas my studio was only birthed earlier this year. I want to ensure that my pledge to you is in no way related to my game dev studio. What do you suggest I do to make sure I keep those separated? Asking now as I don't ever want it to seem like I've been attempting back door shady deals and I have a ton of love and respect for everything you all do at EZA. L&R, Daf

Anonymous

Oh man, just hearing about the whole Tommy's Place situation got me so angry, I can't imagine how frustrating it must've been for you Jones. Thank you for pulling through and delivering a great show despite all the BS you had to go through.

Anonymous

I've heard you mention ghosts a few times recently and as someone who's been interested by the paranormal most of their life I am curious as to what your take on the phenomenon is. Mass delusions? Spirits? Catching a glimpse of someone in an alternate universe? How would you explain what people are seeing? (My last name is pronounced "Jor-garas" with a hard J)

Anonymous

Hey Jones, just want you to send you a huge shout-out for going through all that crap with the USC. Years ago I worked for a place where we did all of the set-up type stuff that USC was supposed to do for you guys, and in my semi-professional opinion it sounds like they totally botched it. Supremely unprofessional of them. Whether you go with them next year (devil you know) or not, we still love you guys and everything you do for us.

Anonymous

From the bottom of my heart thank you for everything you do Jones. Happy 3rd anniversary, and congrats on the amazing performances. Devil Trigger SSS Rank.

Anonymous

Hi Jones, Here's three for the diva in you: - Mame - Gypsy - Hello, Dolly!

Anonymous

Hi Mr. Jones, it's bugging me for a while, do you guys keep the record of the ms delays for each setup you have for your streams? keeping in mind that you always needs to readjust the settings everything you go live. if you have like a notepad o a preset on the software, it could be easier to solve the sync issues

Anonymous

Wherever you decide to post the Cup of Jones FAQ, I think it should be linked every time there is a Cup of Jones post. Just 'please check here before asking your question' message and then the link would be enough.

Anonymous

Hey, Jones. I don't think your USC story was whiny at all. I really, really appreciate you going into all the gory details. That being said, I now have a case of secondhand anger. That whole situation is absolutely unacceptable. Did you take any steps to make your displeasure known? Do you plan to demand a refund for the services, that you paid for, that were not provided? Hell, even an angry Google review?

Anonymous

Jones, I'm so sorry to hear about your experience working with USC. As a student, I know how frustrating it can be to work with the bureaucracy of universities. Thank you so much for communicating so well with us. I know you guys always do the best with everything, the concert included, and don't blame the Allies in the least!

Anonymous

Sweet Jesus that sounds so brutal.... Thanks for putting in all the hard work and dealing with all the nonsense to put together the event.

Sekiro505

First off an amazing show and i loved your version of devil trigger :) Just a personal question this week. Almost finishing up RDR 2. What would you like for Red dead Redemption 3?

Anonymous

Yikes Jones, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that stress! As a former student that planned several events at USC, and can empathize. The process seems much easier for student organizations, but I do remember having lots of paperwork and know how easily communication can fall apart if the people on the other end aren't doing their jobs right. In spite of all of the hiccups, I think the show turned out amazing and is definitely something to be proud of. I was lucky enough to be there in person, so I had a blast being in the crowd and then again last night watching on Twitch. The hard work from all of the Allies & friends was definitely apparent and appreciated! I was also glad to get to go to the meetup on Sunday and meet the Allies! Of course, Sophie was one of the highlights, and she may just be the second most adorable dog I've met (after my own, of course). I was impressed by how well-behaved and friendly she was, which brings me to my question: have you done any doggy training with her, or is she just naturally such a Good Girl?

Anonymous

I'm sorry for my last week's question.

Anonymous

Don't have a question. Just offering my support. I am pleased with how the event went despite all the bad stuff you had to deal with. I'm also satisfied with the goal changes.

Anonymous

Hi Jones! Patron since day one, first time poster! I started a podcast with friends from collage about a year ago and now we have recorded and published about 30 episodes. I'm very proud of what we've done but it's been really hard finding an audience. We get about 10-15 listens per episode which is mainly from friends and family. My question is, do you have any advice about growing your podcast audience? Facebook ads? Using more social medias (we only use Facebook and Instagram) for promotion? Anything else we can do to reach out to more people? We now have a lot of content and are continually producing more but I would love it if more people would find it and listen to it. Thanks a lot in advance //Spelix

Michal Dudic

Hi Jones, sorry to hear that the event was such a trial. I just wanted to chime in as a mostly passive supporter (like - I'll dare guess - the overwhelming majority of viewers and even patrons) and say that I didn't mind any of the hiccups at all and from the outside, I would think that the event went perfectly if the problems hadn't been pointed out. So I just wanted to say, even though I'm sure it was extremely frustrating for all of you, please don't let this bum you out on our behalf and feel free to put it past you. I can't imagine anyone from this community could possibly feel disappointed and scorned. To me, this is a non-issue. Cheers

Anonymous

Hi Jones, In the Days Gone preview you mentioned that you didn’t like how the gameplay was restricted (sniping someone wasn’t allowed) because the mission wanted you to get close to him. I know how that feels because there are too many moments in RDR2 that restricted you to do and progress in a heavily scripted way, not only within the main missions but even in the last few hours Arthur had the chance to shoot few people during a conflict between 3 groups and when the game handed you the controls, they prevent you from killing them. That also happens in the end of the mission “American Venom” using dynamite have no effect on the enemy. Why the inconsistency? L&R

Anonymous

Hi Jones, You might be saving this for a show with Huber, but can you explain to me exactly how you feel Terminator 2 doesn't hold up? This is insane to me. Andy

Anonymous

Hi Jones, Just out of curiosity, is the USC used to have private companies organize events in that venue ? Because from what you're saying they're basically not trained to welcome professionnals and handle those events. Maybe they're just used to student projects, that's why you had so many problems (I don't know how it works in the US but in France, organizing something like this in a University is a receipe for disaster cause nobody's responsible for anything :p ). Anyway, not all the blame is on you clearly ! Have a nice week.

Anonymous
>>21135497

Can I leach into this? I would LOVE to be able to play my own game of MM at home with friends, putting in my own custom questions and what not!

Anonymous

Hi Jones, Since the studio debuted people have been asking what, if anything, was going to go up on the brick wall in the streaming space. Since the Devil May Cry neon sign has been received so well and vibes so perfectly have you considered getting custom signs made to go along with it? Maybe the EZA logo or Love & Respect? No idea how much a custom neon sign cost but feels like a great option for that wall. L&R Broderick Gordes PS. On the subject of lights, is the light under the front of the main stage desk on the left hand side (left of screen as a viewer) broken? I know there have been flickering lights, but that one now seems to be stuck as a pink/purple colour.

Anonymous

Its all good. No one would blame you for that. Excuse my language, but shit happens. You at least were honest and transparent. And it sounds like you learned lessons about working with third parties. We the community support you and understand. Goes without saying, but most don’t know about the amount of stress and time it takes to put on a production, let alone run a studio that films many things. Let alone, taking production to a live event to an off campus venue. Thanks for all the hard work. Don’t stress. Don’t worry. Don’t beat yourself up over it. We understand. Everyone here is human lol we make mistakes. Love you Jones / Allies.

Anonymous
>>21136737

Retrospectives have been removed which was a huge time investment. Possibility to have a new one released once in a blue moon if the time and motivation is there though.

Anonymous

(Question is about Betting Specials, if that's something handled completely by other Allies, you can skip this question Jones) (Pronounced nudge-eeb cu-ray-she) Hey Jones, Thanks for the great live show, loved your and Ian's shows. Love Mysterious Monsters, the live version wasn't for me, but makes sense as it was part of the live show for paying guests, and the streams on Tuesday and Thursday were more than enough for me. Got a quick question about betting specials. Seeing State of Play and companies skipping E3 made me wonder about the plan for betting specials, as they've been my favourite part of EZA and GT throughout. What's the current plan with betting specials, if there are any right now? Will it be similar to last year? If so, how is the challenger being picked? Sorry to hear about all the struggles you went through for the live event. Love and Respect.

Anonymous

Jones. Can I, an east coast resident, count on EZA representation at PAX East 2020?

Connor Rosine

I just wanted to say that it did not either seem crazy or reflect badly on you when I saw the Patreon notification that it wouldn't be live streamed. Live events at other venues are really tricky! I saw the notification saying you were having technical difficulties and said "Oh, bummer" and that's it. I hope you're not beating up on yourself at all, because this is a really understandable thing. Plus, we got to watch it anyways!

Anonymous

Hi Jones, I just moved to the LA area a few weeks ago, so the anniversary event was my first EZA meet-up. I had a fun time and met some really cool people. I wasn’t able to make it to the La Brea tar pits, but I am totally down for another EZA meet-up soon. I know this is probably on the back burner with the dust still settling and everything but I think the community would benefit from more meet-ups this year! (And it’s a great opportunity for fans/allies to connect). Any plans for this? Cheers, Drew

Anonymous

Mr. Jones. Congratulations on turning 3! Doesn't feel like it's been that long, yet here we are. I have accumulated a bunch of questions for the past few months, but somehow I keep forgetting to post, but not this week, here's one. I KNOW you have a .txt file in your computer desktop filled with people you'd like to have in the guest show, and probably a post it note in your wallet with the same purpose. I also KNOW you don't know to look at either of those notes to tell me at least the first 10 people on top of the list. While I don't expect you to spill the beans of those names, because I also KNOW you'd love it to be a surprise, at least to some degree, all I just wanna know, is James Rolfe written in there somewhere? Back when GT live started I wanted it for him to be a guest so bad, then that ended; but now that a similar show is in the horizon, my hopes revived. Love & Respect. César And side note for you, I could almost guessed why the anniversary show could not be streamed this year. I imagined that a miscommunication with the venue was the culprit, where they were supposed to do something and they assumed you would do it and it wasn't noticed until the last minute. What I couldn't have imagined all the other stuff that happened. That was quite a mess all of what you said, and it sure sounds unexpected given how smooth things were just a year prior; I guess one learns the hard way sometimes. Glad its behind you now, something to remember in a few years while sharing a few cold ones and laugh or cry a bit. Thanks for everything you do for us, Jones. Again, Love & Respect, César.

Anonymous

Hi, Jones. No question, I just want to say that I support you guys working on an Instagram account. Just this week we had a Sekiro stream shadow dropped, Blood went to GDC, and MMM happened as did the fan meet up. These are all interesting events if you're into gaming, EZA or its community and sharing photos or teases from or about those events would been really cool. Behind the scenes scoops, community shout outs, teases for future projects or to build hype and the odd divine blessing that is a Sophie pic could also make for some sweet Instagram action. I know Instagram is pretty insignificant in the grand scope of important things to work on as EZA, especially when you have a twitter account that does almost the same. But it would be nice to have an image dedicated social media account.

Anonymous

Jones I work for an audio/visual company that is in hotels throughout LA. If you are looking for a new venue I might be able to help. We offer live streaming and recording too!

Anonymous

Hey Jones, Just wanted to follow up from last week. The reason I asked about DMC5 spoiler mode is because there is quite a lot of significant story stuff in the end, all of which was avoided in the marketing. On a sidenote, yes, please, for the love of god. Spoiler Mode for Us. That movie was amazing. L&R

Anonymous

Hang in there buddy. L/R - Sonny

Anonymous

Business: Hi Jones, honestly i was a bit dissapointed with the 3 year celebration 'mysterious Monsters Mash'. Not because of the technical difficulties, and i didnt mind at all that it wasn't streamed live. What i found dissapointing was thr show itself. I loved your performance, Ian's performance and Huber's. But where were all the other allies!? It was basically a show of just the 3 of you (and the community).. It just wasn't so entertaining for me to watch strangers from the community for so long, while Ben, Bosman, Damiani, Don, Brad, Bloodworth were nowhere to be seen. Why? And if they don't like to be in the spotlight... shouldn't there be something else they can do? Like prerecorded vids or something..

Anonymous

Hi Jones! How do you feel about games that are constantly given away on various services, like the Escapists or Retro City Rampage? Of course it is good to get people to try it out and get their name out, but do you think there is a limit to that? After a point maybe questioning maybe there is a reason it has to be given away so much? Both examples I gave are enjoyable games, but the thought of questionable quality lingers in the back of my mind.

Anonymous

Jones I am 100% on your side what happened with the event planning sounds like a nightmare..It's like these people have never run a business before. I hope you get your money back on some of the services you paid for but did not get and then some.

Anonymous

T-shirt suggestion: Signature trademarked podcast sign off T-shirts.

Anonymous

I know you all were frustrated by Monster Mash, but consider this: I've been following since the early GT days and only recently began patronizing Easy Allies. At first you all were simply a great source for game reviews that are done with integrity, but I realized a few months ago that I was really missing out the community aspect of this business (I literally don't even have a handle yet). I used the event as an excuse to fly out from Nashville, meet up with an old college friend in LA, and go to the Monster Mash and the meetup at the Tar Pits knowing and having met no one in the community. To the last person, everyone I talked to and hung out with - Allies and Patrons alike - were warm, welcoming, and full of enthusiasm. I had such a great time! You all pulled off the event with so much class that if you hadn't mentioned that things were going wrong, I'd have never noticed anything was wrong. TL:DR - While the lack of a live stream portion was a bummer, you all made my weekend. Looking forward to future events!

Anonymous

Hi Jones, Thanks for premiering the show as a twitch event. I couldn't make it out in person and I know you were upset you couldn't transmit the day of the show, but the experience of the premier live on twitch did help make it feel like it was live. Also, thanks to all the supporters that didn't spoil anything before we could see the show. we have a great community! Now on to my question (suggestion, really)... What do you think the guys would think of adding a higher tier that includes traveling to different area events that you can't afford to cover at your current patronage level? Say for instance, $60k to send someone or a small group to cover a European expo? I know the Allies sent Ben to Japan once, and rather than adding new weekly or monthly shows at these higher tiers to add to the schedule the Allies are already doing, find an event that EZA should be covering that is farther away from home. This could also open up the rest of the country and world for meet-ups with patrons, encouraging them to raise their pledges or finally commit when they haven't felt justified in the past. Just a thought. I know you guys have a lot on your plates maintaining the show schedule, but there are holes in the annual schedule that additional funds for travel might give you the ability to fill. L&R Jessie Blu

Anonymous
>>21150970

From what I gather, he got everything that was in the contract except the fog machine, which he isn't going to fret over. The issue appears to have been not reading the fine print and assuming it was the same as last year's contract, combined with ignorance from the university.

Anonymous
>>21158789

This is the first I'm hearing of this, and it's a stunner. If T2 doesn't hold up, neither does Die Hard.

Anonymous

Full Playthrough Friday seems like a lot of effort, so I would think a lot of thought goes into picking the games to ensure not only a fun stream but also maximum viewership. On that point, I speculate that giving the community multiple choices to pick from could further help with the numbers. Any thought given to this?

Anonymous

Hey Jones This summer I asked a series of questions about what you liked about each of the allies. I realized I forgot a very important ally, Sophie! Can we get some Sophie hype and maybe a quick origin story?

Anonymous

Jones! After over a year of being unemployed I just got a job working in the IT division at Costco Corporate!! Now that I am finally making money again I can finally send you a gift. Also, I think you guys should make a lanyard. Would love to rep an Easy Allies lanyard at work.

Anonymous

Don’t you summarize the compliments out of this Jones. Hey Jones, Writing in to respond to what you said last week about only popping up on the Easy Allies Reacts to Easy Allies stream when you got something wrong. I gotta say I really liked the stream and must point out that I sent in the clip from easy update where you were setting your infinity figures back up after having buried them with Ian. Queue “He’s at it again!” sitcom ending with credits. I only sent in one clip, because I read the post and it said to send in one. After seeing multiple people in the comment section essentially say “Ooops! I didn’t read and sent in thirty clips!” I really wish i’d at least sent in the first part of the bit with one of the most iconic EZA lines of all time. “You were the shortest Infinity i’ve ever known.” You’re a treasure Jones and your comedic timing is underrated. (see you’re exit from the stage during Ian singing at the third anniversary) However, i’m not just here to compliment you. Three years from now when you do that stream again…There has gotta be a way to only allow people to send in the limit you’ve set. Partially because last week you said some peoples clips didn’t make it in. Something I didn’t realize because I sent in one clip and it made it in. BUT ALSO, because I was surprised that there weren’t more Easy Update Clips, NO busted Trifecta Clips, No Bonus Bits etc. Lots of clips of streams. Still loved it, but Ian and Don not hitting the beach in that reaction stream was a shame. Once again you’re a treasure. L&R Dan Allen

EasyAllies
>>21219255

While it's a shame that some things weren't represented, nobody had multiple submissions appear in the stream. We tracked who was submitting clips and asked them to choose a favorite if they submitted multiple. -Bloodworth

Anonymous

Brandon, that sounds like an absolutely frustrating nightmare. You have my complete sympathy for having to go through all of that after putting so much effort in. When it rains, it pours. But the show that’s up on youtube is awesome and next year’s organisation will be heaps smoother I’m sure! L&R

Anonymous

Hello Jones! Would you, the Allies ever consider reviewing hardware? Fore example, a review of the Switch Pro, or the PlayStation 5. You would not have to fully go into specs, like Digital Foundry, but rather giver your personal consumer experience, talking about the features, your practical experience, the general capabilities, the feel of the controller, etc. . Who is this console for? What new experiences become possible? How is the couch coop on this machine? Besides being very interested in seeing EZA do something like this, I think it could lead new audiences towards Easy Allies. Love & Respect, Snowcone Guy

Anonymous

How much of EZA's revenue comes from outside Patreon nowadays? I think I remember on a CoJ a long time ago you said it was roughly 90% Patreon and 10% everything else (YouTube, Twitch, merch, etc.). You've said you're doing record numbers on Twitch and you also now have outside sponsors like Trust, so is it more balanced now? Also I noticed the number of Patrons at each tier is no longer shown. Was that a change you guys made or was that because of the Patreon redesign?

Anonymous

Hi Jones, I don’t mean to harp on Instagram again as I know you have already answered several questions about it. However, I did wonder if maybe you could ask Kristen if she was interested in running an Instagram. Obviously she’s probably already very busy with her own stuff and what she already does for Easy Allies is awesome. I totally share your sentiment from last week about how much she does for the community and it made me think that she would be the perfect person to run an Instagram if she was interested because she already knows the community so well! As a side note, I loved your honesty last week and want you to know that at least for me, I don’t blame you and totally understand that things go wrong sometimes!! L&R, Brodie

strawhatninja

Hi Jones, I recently had to drop my pledge on Patreon and it felt bad honestly. I didn't do because of anything you guys did just had to cut back on some of my subscription service payouts. My question is does Easy Allies see a lot of patrons drop and raise their pledges or do most just stay the same? Keep up the great work.

Anonymous

Hey Jones, I just got an email from Twitch about Squad Streams happening finally. I'm wondering if this could be used on streams where you have multiple players on different machines such as the Apex Legends group stream, or when Huber played with multiple allies for Division 2. Looks like the main EasyAllies stream would be unaffected, but people could see a squad page and have the perspective of multiple players, even if it's just through the PS4 share feature on personal accounts. Could the studio internet connection handle 4 outgoing streams, or would this be limited to streams such as the Division 2 stream? Either way, might be something worth testing out!

Anonymous
>>21235720

Don't know if it will help you feeling bad, but anecdotally, I started at the Fan mail tier, went up to Blood Pact tier, down to Early Access tier and am comfortable at the Q&A tier for now. Life happens, especially with multiple companies pitching for those monthly payouts now

Anonymous

Hi Jones, With the official release date of Dreams Early Access announced for April 16, the hype train has officially left the station! Just wondering, what are you looking forward to tackling first as one of your initial projects after you’ve familiarized yourself with the tools? Would it be more focused on a specific type of gameplay, a certain visual style, telling a story, showcasing music, or perhaps a mix of all of the above? Based on what was shown from the Dreams Creator Beta, the possibilities seem endless! Looking forward to what you and the other Allies have planned with Dreams on future shows and streams and hope we get to see a Design Lab / Design Challenge show featuring Dreams in the pipeline!

Anonymous

This last week, I showed my girlfriend the trailer for the remake of Link's Awakening. In the final three seconds of the trailer, there is a brief sound of a girl singing The Ballad of the Wind Fish, one of the reoccurring themes of the game, and it brought me immediately back to when I was a child. That was a song that as a youth, I would turn on my Gameboy and pop in Link's Awakening just to listen to. It got me mentally reminiscing; throughout my time growing up, I had lots of moments like this. In Final Fantasy III (VI), I would turn on the intro just to hear Terra's theme, and in Chrono Trigger, I would select characters to simply sit back and listen to their theme play out. I did this with Chrono Cross's intro and soundtrack, which was my inspiration to learn to play the guitar. I had a collection of recordings of game music on cassette tapes and CDs I would to listen to and show my friends, family and parents. Most recently I had the pleasure of exploring my love of music in a podcast episode I released, as well as a collection of lullaby pieces I recorded for my good friend. I was curious if you recall the first time you remember being moved by music in video games. Beyond that, what are some soundtracks, or specific tracks from those scores that resonated with you particularly strongly, or bring you back to a specific point in time? All that aside, if you'd like, you're welcome to call me Brian from now on, I wasn't aware I could be on a first name basis. Love and respect!

Anonymous

Hey Jones, First, I want to say I had a great time at the EZA third anniversary concert! Even though you guys tried something different (and after hearing all the difficulties you had getting it up and running) the energy was there and everyone couldn't have been nicer. It was personally kinda nuts to meet the EZA team in person, but I felt like I was talking to old friends. Two big thumbs up! This was the fist time in over a decade I had visited LA, and luckily enough one of my best friends from college happens to live in town. I know leading up to the event, you had a hard time making recommendations for Allies visiting from out of town, so I'd like to share the list of recommendations my friend gave me. I went to nearly all these places and can personally vouch for how cool it was to experience them. Feel free to steal this for year 4! Love & Respect Alen Kanlic P.S. Did you know you almost got hit by a car outside of Tommy's Place?! My girlfriend and I were waiting for our Uber to pick us up, and we saw some of the students crowding around a black muscle car (I think it was a mustang) and whoever was in it just gassed it and tore down the street. Literally seconds later we saw a blue car back out right where the car sped through; out popped a very tired looking Jones one his way back to the venue. It was a bit surreal to witness from my end, but I'm very thankful nothing happened! P.P.S. Security drove up in golf cart to yell at the students saying that they called the cops because of the stunt they just pulled. Again, NUTS! RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LOS ANGELES "Grand central market - downtown food hall gets busy by lunch time Bradbury building - across from the grand central market, cool lobby and the location of bladerunner (just cool to pop in) Bonnaventura hotel - rooftop bar that spins ever-so-slowly so you can see the whole damn city if you’re in there for more than an hour Echo park lake - There’s a park / lake in echo park that would be a good place to stop by on Sunday. It’s mostly locals but most of the neighborhood comes out Ferndell Park (take the subway to Hollywood and western) at the base of Griffith Park, a marrow creek park that has trails leading up to the observatory (this would be a nice hike) LACMA - our other museum campus. It’s famous for the levitated mass and those light posts. If you go here, you can walk to little Ethiopia (meals by genet is awesome, Jon & Vinny’s is Also popular) Rodeo drive - the magnificent mile / 5th ave of LA. If that’s what you’re into. Venice ! - Venice is definitely a site to be seen. Between the Venice canals, Abbott Kinney Blvd and the boardwalk there’s a lot to see and experience. Gjusta is great. If you’re looking for places to eat or drink, id still recommend kazunori or badmaash. You could also stumble around little Tokyo and find some really great sirashi"

Anonymous

Love a good Jones rant

Anonymous

I’m with ya, Jones. I really do not enjoy mouse + keyboard for games. There are a few exceptions I’ve made over the years (Max Payne trilogy, Portal, Five Nights at Freddy’s) where playing on M+KB was the best option BY FAR (or only option), but aside from those few games, I’d rather hold a controller in my hand. My stress levels from work instantly melt away once I pick up a PS4 controller. Perhaps growing up with nothing but consoles causes my brain to associate holding a controller with fun/relaxation. I don’t understand how people who work on computers all day for their job are still into M+KB gaming when they get home. That would drive me insane.

Anonymous

Personal question: Hey Jones, I have a follow up question from my post from the last episode of Cup of Jones in regards to gaming secrets and myself not playing a Zelda game before. I would like your input on Zelda games and the series as a whole. All my life I've heard about how great this series is, that they are some of, if not, the greatest games ever made. I have only played and beat A Link to the Past on my SNES Classic two years ago. I could see why people love this game, it's sense of exploration and it's world is impressive to me, but playing this game 20 plus years after it's release, it's game play didn't quite blow me away like a lot of people and websites hype this game to be (combat was a bit underwhelming for me and felt dated or how long it takes to gain armor upgrades/ sword upgrades was badly placed). But taken in context of when it came out, I can see how it was so highly regarded and its design paved the way for the future of games. But as a first time playing it I didn't get the hype surrounding it. I would like to continue to try and experience the later series games like Ocarina of Time and other titles of those caliber next to see if I like them better but I am wondering if this series is over hyped, maybe even slightly? A couple of games that I have played Darksiders 1 & 2(good games) and Okami (loved this game) have been compared to being very similar to a Zelda style of game. Those are the closest resemblance of a modern Zelda game I have experienced. Are Zelda games as good as or even greater than those games? I would like your input since I know you and all the allies love these games and I respect your opinion. All my life I just hear how Zelda games are revered and treated like the greatest games ever made and that feeling of not knowing for myself kinda drives me mad inside a bit because since I haven't played many of them, looking on the outside, they do seem like good games, but the level of hype these games get, since I dont have much experience with these games, feel like they get over hyped to a certain extent. A Link to the Past I thought was good (a solid 7 for me) but I know people highly regard it as one of the best games ever made and I didn't quite get that vibe. Anyway, am I nuts for thinking this? Or do I have some justification in my thoughts questioning some of the hype Zelda games receive? I know nostalgia and fanboy bias can sometimes interfere with a fair and unbiased opinion on certain game franchises and just want a fair perspective on these games and thoughts on them. Thanks, Chris Eyerly

Anonymous

Hey Jones. Are you guys going to do a spoiler mode for Sekiro? I know it's not the most story-focused game out there, but I'd still love to hear some in-depth spoilery discussion about the story, the lore, the characters, the bosses, the levels and just the Allies personal experiences, like where they struggled the most. I know a lot of you are passionate about Soulsborne games so I'm sure there could be a lot of great discussion to be had.

Soupkitten

Hey Jones. This might have been asked already. Sorry if so, but do you think the Easy Allies could pull off a Nintendo Direct like Kinda Funny did with their showcase? I don't mean whether or not you guys would even want to. I just want to know if you think you guys could deliver on such a thing.

Anonymous

Howdy Jones! It’s been noted on a handful of group streams that there isn’t really any way to turn up the audio on your end of things without the mics picking it up. Obviously audio is important for games like shooters, but even if it’s just for the sake of a well rounded first impression, is there no way to work around this? I don’t even know if the Allies find this to be a problem, but every once and awhile I’ll definitely notice a funny sound, or an important warning that chat thinks is valuable, but the group misses. Maybe wireless earbuds could be an option in the future (so you can have one ear in and one ear out)? L&R TAHK0

Anonymous

Dear Jones, Semi business question.. Semi Persona question.. Do you and Amanda do vocal exercises on a regular basis to keep your pipes in tip top order, and if so what are a couple? Congrats on the studio, really loving all the content coming out of EZA these days.. L&R

Anonymous

Hi Jones, thank you for sharing the difficulties of the anniversary with us and putting on a great show. I wanted to offer a small silver lining and bring a bit of positivity since I know you were frustrated about not getting to live stream it. Last Saturday night I got so caught up with playing Sekiro that I completely forgot about the anniversary. When I saw the karaoke video go up I was bummed that I missed the live stream. When Sunday came around I was delighted to see that I actually hadn’t missed the original broadcast and would get to watch it “live” with the rest of the community. Hopefully this is at least somewhat of a consolation after all the stress and troubles. PS the a in my last name makes the ah sound like in water.

Anonymous

Hi Brandon, I appreciate the explanation of what happened with the live show. Although, there was no way I could personally see the show over Twitch, I can still see the massive effort that went into the show after watching it on YouTube. Everyone should be proud of what has been accomplished within this 3 year period. For what could be considered a personal question/comment on the show, since I didn’t see the musical show from last year, I personally thought the musical numbers were going to be a parody you could say. How wrong I was!! I was left feeling amazed and sometimes in shock at how good the performances were. Brandon being considered a classical maestro and Ian having a very surprising vocal range that was speechless. Also, I’m not sure on Noah’s origins (I think that’s the lady’s name that sang with Ian), but she was just as amazing. When can we expect the Easy Allies album? (Wink, wink.) All joking of the album aside, always enjoy your content and the passion from everyone. Love & Respect.

Anonymous

Howdy, Jones! As we approach the oh-so-short two month timeframe between us and E3, would you mind going over your big and small goals for EZA and the studio that you care to share for covering the big show? I know you've dropped some talk to that regard here and there since the start of the year, but there's always been some other thing absorbing most of your team's attention. Not expecting coverage or presentation promises, mind you. More just interested in how you and the allies plan things out with the show appearing on the horizon, and if that's changed any with the studio finally materializing this year.

Anonymous

Hey Jones, Long time Patreon, first time Cup writer. My question is more of a business question. As a young man inspired by the content produced at both GT and now at EZA I’ve have a deep desire to try transitioning careers to content creation. I’ve been lucky enough to work for an extremely large corporation for my professional career, however because of this I don’t have the knowledge/experience to know what it’s like to start a business from the ground up. This leads to my question - from a business/finance perspective, what advice can you give for starting a Patreon/YouTube/twitch channel? I believe I had heard an ally say something early on about the benefit of a business account (I’m assuming for tax purposes?) but any advice you can give that you’ve learned after 3 years of EZA from a financial/business perspective (like the importance of EZA creating an LLC if I recall for example?) would be greatly appreciated!!! Also, I apologize if this has been asked already, I’m roughly 2 Cup eps behind. Thank you and L&R, Bobby

Anonymous

Mr. Jones, You have probably already answered this but... If you and the Allies were given a blank check and made the directors of a new IP video game what kind of game would the 9 of you make together? You have your own development team (your choice of who) so you would only need to create and control what is produced. What game would you make if it was just you? Love and Respect, Morgan Mohalla Amanda standby question: What would you like the EZA community to know about you, that is, what is the one thing that you think we should know about you?

Anonymous

Lets try this one more time (3rd time's the charm, right?)... why does Patreon delete comments... Hey Jones, You can file this under Persona :P questions again. Since you said it would not be a bother to you I will give a reason as to why I have been asking questions about meditating. I'm dealing with MS and it has been affecting my ability to concentrate and focus a little. I have read/heard that mediating could help, so I have been trying it out (though clearing the mind and feeling/focusing on certain body movement is the difficult part for me). Also, I just want to cast my vote for that Wellness segment if/whenever you decide to do it. Just got two quick questions about meditating. How long do you usually do it (I apologize for bringing up an annoying/frustrating memory, but last CoJ you said you mediated for about 18 minutes during the MMM Live event, is that a usual length of time for you?) and how many times a day/week do you do it? For me personally, I have been doing it for five minutes at least once a day (in the Morning) and sometimes do it again at Night (before bed). This will probably be the last time I ask about mediating (well, unless I can dig up something that piques my interest), I was just looking for any information/tips/etc. on the subject. If I have not said it before I will say it now, thanks for any/all information you proved, I really appreciate it.

Anonymous

PERSONAL Hey Jones, what’s your favorite game?

Anonymous

Hey-oh, Jooooooones! What do you think of this? Monsters Mash as a mobile game! How cool would that be?! Love & Respect, Friendly Merlin