ARcade Attacks! - October 2018!

Season 3 - Ongoing!










Season 2

Season 1


Ok so hopefully you've all watched the video above.

This is ARcade Attacks, the first in what we hope will be a long line of Youtube exclusive GRcade video content.
I'll be playing and talking about Arcade games throughout the decades, from some of the earliest, right up to the most recent things I can run on MAME.

What I'm looking for just now is feedback. What you liked, what you didn't. What worked, what needs work.

I fully expect most of the criticisms (And I'm expecting plenty ) to be the same things that I think need work, though I'm sure there'll be some surprises as well.

As well as that, are there any games that people want to see covered?

I can say that I've already recorded and uploaded the second episode (Dodonpachi) and will be starting on the third in the next few days.

Don't be too cruel guys.

Love it !

I'll post more later on but pretty much all positive

Thanks man.

There are a few things I want to work on going forward.

- Logo. It's very bare bones and not currently very interesting
- Audio. I don't like the sound I'm getting from my mic so might need to invest in a better one. Been recording it with Adobe Audition, though I might try a few other programs. I seem to get better audio from OBS and Xsplit strangely enough.
- Writing. It seems too forced and I think you can tell I'm reading from a script. I already feel that this is a bit better in the second video and I'm aiming to make it sound a bit more informal/conversational.
- Ending. I need to make up a "Like/Follow/Subscribe" blurby bit for the end, preferably with a nice screen showcasing other videos we've posted.

Nice vid, apart from some of the other things mentioned here, when you talked about the graphics upgrades, super combos etc for the various Street Fighter games, it might have helped to cut to footage from them to highlight the points you were making, perhaps of the same characters on the same stages to really emphasise the differences.

Trelliz wrote:Nice vid, apart from some of the other things mentioned here, when you talked about the graphics upgrades, super combos etc for the various Street Fighter games, it might have helped to cut to footage from them to highlight the points you were making, perhaps of the same characters on the same stages to really emphasise the differences.

Cheers.

I was thinking that as well. It's one of the things I'm planning on working on in future videos.

An improved mic, and more relevant footage to match words being spoken would greatly help. Also more variety of footage in general. (Too much Ryu VS Chun Li!)

If you don't want it to sound like script is being read, maybe use notes as opposed to reading from the script.

Excellent work, Devlin - I can see that you have put a lot of effort into this!

Just a few thoughts:

+ Marvelous idea; I like the idea of ARcade Attacks! Would the remit cover home conversions of arcade games, too? It would be terrific to see an overview of the arcade version alongside some of the ports
+ The graphic quality is excellent (sharp, clear gameplay and super sprite-grabs)
+ The game sound quality is very good
+ Comprehensive and interesting script
- Your voice-over is a little quiet and I struggled to hear it clearly in places ( I know you're already looking at this aspect)
- Maybe could have included footage of the original Final Fight during your talk about that game

Overall, a top first episoide and I'm excited to see how you develop the series in the future! I feel that you voicework will become even better as your confidence increases from making these videos. If you need a hand with logos or gfx then I can try and help.

Saint of Killers wrote:An improved mic, and more relevant footage to match words being spoken would greatly help. Also more variety of footage in general. (Too much Ryu VS Chun Li!)

If you don't want it to sound like script is being read, maybe use notes as opposed to reading from the script.

I like the notes idea. Should make it seem more off-the cuff than prepared.

I'm planning on tailoring the footage a bit more to the actual discussion so hopefully that'll be a bit better.

jawafour wrote:Excellent work, Devlin - I can see that you have put a lot of effort into this!

Just a few thoughts:

+ Marvelous idea; I like the idea of ARcade Attacks! Would the remit cover home conversions of arcade games, too? It would be terrific to see an overview of the arcade version alongside some of the ports
+ The graphic quality is excellent (sharp, clear gameplay and super sprite-grabs)
+ The game sound quality is very good
+ Comprehensive and interesting script
- Your voice-over is a little quiet and I struggled to hear it clearly in places ( I know you're already looking at this aspect)
- Maybe could have included footage of the original Final Fight during your talk about that game

Overall, a top first episoide and I'm excited to see how you develop the series in the future! I feel that you voicework will become even better as your confidence increases from making these videos. If you need a hand with logos or gfx then I can try and help.

Not really planning on talking about home conversions to be honest. If there's good cause to mention home versions I will though.
Game graphics and audio isn't really an issue, just the voice over. I'm looking into a temporary solution until I can afford to get a new microphone.

Great feedback guys, thanks.

Nice one, Devlin. My feedback included a game typo - I meant the "original Street Fighter", not "original Final Fight". at self!

Bravo, ARcade Attacks!

Just watched and yeah really struggled to hear what you said at some points. Was really confused when you started talking about scat!!
Yeah putting in gameplay of the different variations would be good. Liked the logos and the characters popping up.
How about a 'Game Over' at the end? Or is that too cheesy?

Hyperion wrote:Just watched and yeah really struggled to hear what you said at some points. Was really confused when you started talking about scat!!
Yeah putting in gameplay of the different variations would be good. Liked the logos and the characters popping up.
How about a 'Game Over' at the end? Or is that too cheesy?

You must have watched a different video.

But yeah I'm working on the audio quirks.

Not a fan of the game over idea. Seems a bit too cheesy.

I'm reworking the next video a bit just now in response to some of the feedback I've gotten. Hopefully it'll fix a couple of the issues.

Good. The only things that I can suggest:

No GRcade intro, put that at the end of the video with your theme song. People will just close the video otherwise. You could have the outdo GRcade logo with theme song which then displays a few video thumbnails at the end (next video in the playlist, random video, a different GRcade show etc). I would say the games intro music and title screen are fine to start your video, maybe use that and fade the sound in/delay it so it's not blaring out as soon as the video starts playing

The intro music seemed very loud. A lot of people watch YouTube when they shouldn't be watching YouTube. Also as noted, the narration was low in comparison to the intro so you couldn't be heard very well.

When I narrate videos I use a script too but I usually record at least two takes of the entire thing. Then you can cut bits from the 2 or 3 versions you like best.

BID0 wrote:Good. The only things that I can suggest:

No GRcade intro, put that at the end of the video with your theme song. People will just close the video otherwise. You could have the outdo GRcade logo with theme song which then displays a few video thumbnails at the end (next video in the playlist, random video, a different GRcade show etc)

The intro music seemed very loud. A lot of people watch YouTube when they shouldn't be watching YouTube. Also as noted, the narration was low in comparison to the intro so you couldn't be heard very well.

When I narrate videos I use a script too but I usually record at least two takes of the entire thing. Then you can cut bits from the 2 or 3 versions you like best.

Cheers BID0.

That's the first I've heard someone talk about the intro. I'll take that onboard. Main concern being that people don't stick about till the end to see it, but I'll have a think on it.

I'm looking into an "ending" segment as you suggested. Theres' not much else on Youtube right now, but I'll be able to do something with it.

Audio volume shouldn't be an issue going forward. I've already re-recorded the audio for the second video, to a much better level.

Like I said I'm gonna be taking a lot of this on board and considering some things so keep the feedback coming guys!

I think if your content is good enough (and with the linking other videos at the end - which you obviously can't do just yet until there's more up) people will come back for more.

People have short attention spans in this era of 5 minute videos. If you keep an eye on your video stats I think it tells you how long people watch for before closing. My Facebook videos I've done so far tend to be an average of 25-30% in and they're only roughly 1 minute long. It's something you can keep an eye on over the next few weeks anyway to see how long people are sticking around for.

Don't forget you can upload a different thumbnail for the video that isn't even in your content. That can serve as your intro/branding/catchiness. Bright yellow font etc

People close videos because of intro er, credits? I've never done that. (At worst, I skip 'em.)

I tend to click on one of the suggestions that look similar on the right hand bar.

I can't think of any videos I watch off the top of my head with intro logos other than angry joe, and I think his one is more of a joke with the ott music and the explosion backdrop

Sound definitely needs working on, as others have said the music is quite loud compared to your speech (which I could barely hear).

Put the GRCade logo at the end too.

Great stuff Devlin, seriously a good quality first stab at this, it'd be really good to get more community feedback on this stuff as it might stop the forum dying in the long run. Feels like this thread should be an announcement really or have more of a admin push behind it.

Onto the feedback. First of all I like the subject matter, focussing on Arcades isn't something I've seen before (not that I've looked) and if you can find engaging or original games to talk about I can see longevity in it. I liked the script as well and the length seemed more or less perfect enough for a a quick click to see if it's of interest but not too long to put off, I reckon a 10 minute cap is a safe bet. The intro and low-if titles were good, could maybe use a bit of tinkering to sync it all together better and feel like it's all part of the same production. The into music was ok but a bit loud.

The stuff that needs work has already been mentioned, if you're going to continue with this, and you should, then a decent mic should be a priority because if I wasn't a GRcader with interest in community output the sound quality would have made me switch or straight away. Maybe speaking a bit more clearly would help too though it's hard to tell how much of an issue that is with the poor quality audio. The video footage could also use a little work, like someone said making it fit better with what you're talking about would help but I wouldn't say it's a huge issue yet. Also mixing it up a bit I think would be interesting, maybe just some footage of you sitting in your room talking about the game would help it be more engaging. Depends if you have the confidence to speak to camera like that, but worth a try I reckon. Finally if it's going to push GR in the title maybe community involvement would be nice. Get someone on well versed in SF and talk about their experiences with the game or you do a quick interview thing, might help push it on here a bit more and make it more interesting to a casual viewer.

That's all I can think off after a first watch, really good first effort though. I applaud you for the quality of it and the work you must have put in well worth it, I look forward to the next.

I just wanted to say thank you for all the feedback on the first episode. Some fantastic suggestions there that I'll be looking to incorporate going forward.

I've been able to go back and retool some of the second episode (Which I'd pretty much finished last week) based on what you've all suggested and I should have it up shortly.

To manage expectations a little I will say up front that the episode I'm uploading still has the intro (Though I've dropped the volume on it a bit), and that I've not got a proper "Ending" screen. Audio quality should be much better though. There is additional footage of some of the other games I mention intercut as well.

Intro, ending and a few other things will be addressed for the next episode.

I aim to have a new one up each week, probably on a Sunday night. The third one I haven't started yet, but I'll be recording footage today and starting to pull things together for that.

Cheeky Devlin wrote:I just wanted to say thank you for all the feedback on the first episode. Some fantastic suggestions there that I'll be looking to incorporate going forward.

I've been able to go back and retool some of the second episode (Which I'd pretty much finished last week) based on what you've all suggested and I should have it up shortly.

To manage expectations a little I will say up front that the episode I'm uploading still has the intro (Though I've dropped the volume on it a bit), and that I've not got a proper "Ending" screen. Audio quality should be much better though. There is additional footage of some of the other games I mention intercut as well.

Intro, ending and a few other things will be addressed for the next episode.

I aim to have a new one up each week, probably on a Sunday night. The third one I haven't started yet, but I'll be recording footage today and starting to pull things together for that.

Can you PM me when you add a new one so the next day I can do some social posts like I have with Pedz