Thursday Thoughts, Edition 004; February 28th , 2013

I’m not going to lie, you happy lot, but this week has been surprisingly taxing in regards to YouTube.  I honestly thought that bulk recording videos would make things easier as far as preparing content… but wow.  Two words: Video Rendering.  Editing might be tedious, cats and kittens, but rendering videos is just plain time consuming.  It can take anywhere from 9 to 18 hours on my box for one HQ video to render… and even then, there’s a chance for the video’s audio to de-synch or flat out just stop making noise.  If that happens, we have to do the whole post-processing shtick all over again.

All part of the learning process, I suppose.

It’ll be a while before I can churn out content at the pace I want to with the quality I’d love to provide you guys with, most of that while will be related to the acquisition of hardware.  Until then, I’ll have to live with these tedious inconveniences for your sakes. :3 … and that alone is worth it.

Stream-wise, I haven’t given up on ‘the game that should not be named’.  At the moment, though, times are tight and with all the stuff in life I’m currently pursuing and sorting out, I don’t quite have the time I used to… not even for dailies. Sadface.  I don’t know how it’ll affect my Wednesday streams; it’s looking like I might have to give the Wednesday hangout streams the axe, but I don’t want to go that far.  This last Wednesday stream I winged it and played a few flash games just to see where that would take us. I can tell you happy lot this: there are some nice little flash game gems out there, and I’m thinking it might be a good idea to play a few gems until things smooth over for me in reality.

Anyways, I’m looking forward to doing another Role-Played adventure map series. I’ve found a couple good maps to do so with, and I have a few ideas in the way of spicing things up a bit.  However, after I’ve chewed through those two maps, I’m going to need suggestions for other maps to RP through. Feel free to think up and suggest good “RP-able” maps for me to play with in the future.

(Note:  From my limited experience, a good “RP-able” map should be easily resettable at any point. It’s really not fun having to reload the map and play through from the beginning just to record a re-take at a certain point in the map’s story … especially if the map is designed to be about 2 and a half hours long or longer. Eugh.)

As for LoaPOB, I’m looking for challenges, or at least a few goals to fill out before I can call the series complete.  Feel free to suggest a few. I’ll choose about 10 or 15 to tackle before taking on the Enderdragon and ending the series.  Beyond LoaPOB, I have a couple more ideas for series(es), but they may need to wait until I have the resources and people power to pull them off.

And again, I leave you happy lot with a wall of text. Thanks for reading this far, guys. :3

Until next time, cats and kittens; Have fun, be safe, and be awesome.

-Lioness

Thusday Thoughts, Edition 003; February 21st, 2013

This week’s ThT may wind up being more or less a short one.  Suffice it to say, a lot is on my plate and on my mind since my last entry.  For instance, it’s curious how little things like permanently misplacing important items can really turn one’s attitude toward personal endeavors upside down.

I won’t lie to you happy lot -- I am really having second thoughts. It’s not the lack of views and subs, mind you; I was well informed that I was setting up shop in a wasteland, and getting very few visitors would come with the territory. What’s really got my gut in a knot is the fact I have little to no outside support as of this article. In other words, I’m pretty much doing this alone like most YouTubers/Streamers, and from my own observations, lone wolves like me generally don’t have channels that last.  A suspension bridge without support cables won’t hold weight for long, dear guests.

On top of that, I’ve been taking a long, hard look at my previous broadcasts and the initial quality of my edited YouTube videos during my hiatus.  In all honesty, I can only cringe.  It really kind of sucks, despite having all the necessary tools to start out with, realizing that I have no initial direction and almost no conviction.  The last few livestream broadcasts I did feel forced now that I look back at them, and I’m starting to wonder if the whole ‘I just want to share the fun I’m having’ thing is really going to fly, if I really am having fun, and if the fun I’m having shows.  I fear that the trepidation I’m gathering now is going to show up more than any fun I have no matter what I do, and I know that will hurt everything in the long run.

Reality outside of the internet isn’t helping much either, but I won’t go into the details, dear guests.  Let’s just say I’m in the process of getting reality re-arranged and leave it at that.

Th long and short of it is that I’m likely going to take a bit more time thinking about what I can do on my own; taking into consideration who I really want my core audience to be, what will be regular content on my channels, etc, and whether or not it’ll be worth it to pursue this hobby for what it offers (… that isn’t all that much, mind you.)  And do remember that this is all backseat stuff to what’s going on beyond the computer screen.

And in before any thoughts otherwise -- I’m a noob, kids; remember that. Noobs are a dime a dozen.  I know I won’t be missed if I decide to turn back now and focus on what’s really important in life.  Some days, one has to smile and move on.  I don’t know if I should do just that merely for the sake of what’s left of my sanity.

Now, I’m not the kind to leave you happy lot on a downer.  I do enjoy doing things that leave smiles on people’s faces and sharing what I do with friends.  Should I leave this behind to focus on making life a little more agreeable, it might be worth it to pick this whole deal up again once stuff’s all settled and out of the way. TL;DR, if I leave, I’ll be back.  If I stay, I can only pray it’ll work out.

Until the next time, cats and kittens; have fun, be safe, and be awesome.

-Lioness

Thursday Thoughts, Edition 002, Febrary 14th, 2013

Hello, cats and kittens, and welcome back to another edition of Thursday Thoughts.

If you've been following my Twitter or put up with my shenanigans on certain forums as of late, then you're likely aware of the fact that I've also taken a dive into the dark and wild world of YouTube. Admittedly, I'm still having butterflies and crickets about it, and not because of my nooby first attempt at filming and editing or because I am aware of what I'm getting into. It's mostly because I sense that I've jumped in at the wrong time due to IRL reasons ... Of course, that's not going to stop me.

Now's as good a time as any to set and orgainize my prioroties and what should be at the heart of my life, regardless of what is thought or approved of... and I want to share that process with you happy lot.

First off, as I may have hinted at on certain forums, I've been considering shuffing around the format of my livestreams to accommodate the activity on my YouTube channel. The plan is as follows:

-Mondays-
Stream: Mondays are still Minecraft Mondays. The format is going to be a whole lot more relaxed, and likely still going to be short and sweet as far as streams go. I've chucked out the "RP an Adventure Map over stream" idea (it was a royal flop, admittedly; everything that could go wrong went wrong...,) and I've decided that the next time I play through a map over livestream, it'll be played as it's supposed to be played. As for the content, I do have a personal modpack of my own that I've put together, and I'd love to share my adventures in that world with you guys. If time allows, I'll do some mod reviews in-stream, play a few minigames, and maybe even hang out with your happy lot on a server somewhere.

The stream proper will not be more than 2 to 3 hours, and unless life decides to get especially rough, I'll start the stream at around 6 or 7ish PST.

YouTube: After the stream proper, I'll unlist the streaming channel for recording footage for the stuff I'm sharing over YouTube (because Xsplit is having a hissy fit with private channel keys for some reason.) Since I don't exactly have hard-drive space to spare for the prolonged recordings YouTube demands, I'm pretty much stuck with using Twitch as a place to store my raw footage. I'll be recording more heavy and serious stuff here, including RP episodes and so on.

You're all welcome to stick around for any bloopers and hanging out with me in-between takes; just be mindful that if I'm playing in-character, you'll need to wait until I'm at a break in the story or in-between takes before I can answer questions and consider suggestions.


-Tuesdays-
YouTube: Tuesdays are strictly not a streaming day, so the streaming channel will remain unlisted should I run out of time recording on Monday night. The recording sessions will be varied depending on the difficulty of the content and so on.


-Wednesdays-
Stream: Wednesdays are going to be a bit more varied and relaxed. As I've said before, I'm really trying to downplay the fact I do happen to enjoy playing the game-that-should-not-be-named, so my Wednesday streams are going to feature a bit less WoW and more random stuff. I might pull out Portal or Magicka or some random flash game to share with you guys after the WoW portion of the stream. I'll start at the usual time and just hang out with you guys for however long I might have in my system. Cheers.

YouTube: I do have another project I've been wanting to do on my mind, but we'll see how this format goes before I dive into that alongside what I'm currently sharing over YouTube. What that idea is exactly will have to wait for another Thursday Thoughts.

-Thursdays-
Cumulative: This will be my wrapping up day for the week. Expect blog posts on Thursdays and maybe radio silence while I take care of business behind the scenes.

-Weekends-
If I haven't posted anything on Youtube on Thursday, I'm likely going to post on Friday and leave things up to the Lord after that. Anything bewteen Friday postings and Monday is going to be set aside as sabbath and rest, planning and prepping for next week.

This will take effect either this week or the next, so be on the lookout.

Anyways, with the above laid out, I do want to remind you guys that Livestreaming and YouTube is just a hobby for me personally, and I'll drop what I'm doing should work, family, and life in general wants my attention elsewhere. Don't worry, I'll warn you guys over Twitter if something comes up.

Anyways, I'll leave this up for you happy lot to discuss. Don't be afraid to leave me a suggestion or two, as it'll help me further refine what I'm doing... and for the kind, respectful comments, I thank you.

Until next time, cats and kittens; have fun, be safe, and be awesome.

-Lioness

Thursday Thoughts, Edition 001, February 7th, 2013

Welcome to Thursday Thoughts. The purpose of this little bit is to be something of a blog of sorts; a way to futher expand on little updates and ideas that I normally would not be able to either speaking on stream or in the serious shorthand of twitter.

Feel free to weigh in on the topics mentioned in these articles; as an entertainer, it'll provide some insight into just what it is I'm actually signing up for.

First on the list is something I may have chatted about over tonight's 'Hangout' stream: basically, I'm considering taking a little break from mediamaking and perhaps media in general for about a week or so. Not sure if I'll take an extended break after that week (it is being seriously considered, mind you) but given how toxic the mainstream media is (and this is counting platforms such as Twitch and Youtube), a few days in detox will be good and healthy. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up before I drop off the face of the earth.

Second, and I may have also chatted about this over my regular Wednesday stream, but I've long considered branching out into YouTube seriously, and I've spent the last couple days reviewing what other mediamakers caution and advise noob 'Tubers like myself and acquainting myself with a few tools of the trade available (to those with almost no budget ... *facepalm*) ... I'm not going to lie, it is a pain in the butt (particularly editing the footage,) and I'm getting serious knots in the gut and grasshoppers in the heart just thinking about the notion of posting content there. What might be your thoughts about this, you happy lot? Should I risk this path? Or should I wait? Regardless of whether or not I remain a dedicated livestreamer, it'll be good to have others along for the ride in whatever I happen to do.

Third, and this will affect my streams (and perhaps my Youtube identity in the future, should I explore that road,) I’m currently chipping out the full nature of my content and what that content would be identified by. I’ve pretty much settled on being family friendly (mostly), so that part is non-negotiable. I’m keen on presenting myself as a character (likely just my Minecraft Avatar instead of my actual face), or simply keeping my entertainment persona separate from my IRL persona... Though I don’t think that latter option will work very well considering I’m also very keen on role-playing/acting the parts of different characters in the games and series that I’ll be involved in. I’d also like to see you guys weigh in on this matter. I have an idea on what I might do, but the mirror of other voices does help in making crucial decisions like this.

Anyways, that’s the gist of what’s on my mind this week in regards to the streaming channel and what I have planned for the future. I greatly appreciate any feedback I can get at this nascent stage I’m currently at.

Until I’m live again -- Have fun, be safe, and be awesome.

--HalcyonLioness

Testing the Waters

Everyone makes an inaugural post. Here's mine.

Greetings. I am HalcyonLioness. Gamer, streamer, and all around ne'erdowell. I am honored to meet you happy lot, and I hope to get to know you guys as time goes on.

As I'll state later, this blog will be where I'll talk about things I really can't fit on Twitter or may only touch on while livestreaming. Keep tabs on this blog for news regarding what I might be up to or what's happening between broadcasts.

That said, thanks for stopping by. Until we meet again, have fun, be safe, and be awesome.

-HalcyonLioness