Some necessary changes are afoot for Retronauts (Patreon)

Hi all, Jeremy here to let you know about some changes in the cards for the show—including a new patron tier.

This isn't going to be a huge change, but it's a necessary response to the reality of a world under siege by a pandemic, and the long-term reality of how it's going to affect life in the U.S. If you've been with us for a while, you know that the original goal of launching this Patreon campaign back in 2014 was to make it possible for me to travel to San Francisco (and for Bob and I both to travel to live events), which is how the majority of our podcasts have been recorded for more than five years. That's obviously not possible right now—I had to cancel a trip last week that would have resulted in 10 episodes being recorded, plus Midwest Gaming Classic and BitSummit have been shut down over the next couple of months (which would have been another 10-12 episodes). That's not great! But the show must go on, and so we're rethinking our respective approaches to the show.

For Bob, things won't be changing too much, as he's already set up to record remotely with various people as needed. But now those remote recordings won't be fill-ins between bicoastal studio sessions; they'll be the majority of his episodes. On the other hand, I learned during our Kickstarter era that trying to lead a podcast of multiple people from the other side of the country is not one of my strengths. I can do it, but I also know that the quality of the conversation will suffer. So rather than going big, I intend to go small. Until travel becomes an available luxury again, and I can invite the Retronauts East crew back to my home studio safely, my shows will be changing format. I have about eight more roundtable recordings in the can (I have spent the past three years building up a backlog of 4-6 months' worth of content specifically for extenuating circumstances like these!), but those will only last until June at this rate. So I'm planning to spread them out a bit as I shift to the new episode format.

For the time being, the episodes I'm recording will consist of multiple one-on-one conversations—basically, the plan is for each podcast to be about the same length as usual (70-80 minutes) but to consist of a couple of different segments, on different topics, with different people. I'll move back over to classic roundtables as soon as that's prudent (and legal), but for the time being I think this format shift will keep the show lively while also helping to diversify the topics we cover.

The new format also presents an opportunity to move ahead with something I've been wanting to do for a couple of years now: Bring the Retronauts listenership into the mix. We have opened up a new $100 premium patron tier called "One With the Lifestream" that will allow five backers to record a segment (on a topic of their choosing!) with me once every four months. (Though as a reward to everyone who signs up in March, their segments will be recorded in April.) Based on Bob's experience with Talking Simpsons, we've set this tier fairly high, monetarily speaking, simply to ensure we get serious applicants only. That being said, I definitely don't want to limit this opportunity to people whose finances haven't been shaken by recent events. We'll also be selecting one interested backer at the $5+ level each month (at random) to call in and participate in a segment as well. 

In short, I'm really hoping to turn the most difficult situation in living memory into an opportunity to make Retronauts a more diverse, community-focused show. And, of course, in addition to the community segments, I'll still be recording plenty of segments with the usual cast of experts, journalists, developers, and other ne'er-do-wells. 

Personally speaking, I would like to thank everyone sincerely for your continued support of this show in a difficult time. My household has definitely been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. My wife has had to completely shut down her photography business indefinitely, and I have several dear family members who work in the medical field and have been forced into the front lines to deal with harrowing hospital situations in Baltimore, New Jersey, and Hawaii. It's been a challenging month, financially and emotionally, and it's only going to get more stressful in the coming months. Knowing that so many people still believe in what we're doing here, even if we're not exactly saving the world by talking about old video games, means more than you can know. Hopefully in shifting to this new format, we can not only keep the show going as strong as ever, but also give back a little bit to the community that makes our work possible in the first place.

So thanks again, and please look forward to some exciting NEW Retronauts before too long.

—Jeremy