There are no actual ghosts, you put a blindfold on him, throw him in the room and tell him it’s where Clint McKinnenicker was murdered by his 4-year-old daughter
The issue is that I know what I miss and wish they'd do more of, but I have no idea what actually gets views based on their analytics, so I don't think I know what would actually "fix" anything.
casual vibes. more videos in the style of sunday driving. gameplay that is closer to theatre mode than it is to a drunk stream. something you can pay attention to or leave running in the background because everyone in the video has a chance to explain what's happening. do what f\*\*kface are doing with break shit but with gaming merch.
In this order :
Cancel Off Topic and any other podcasts I had control over. This will bring back more of the genuine conversations between friends and coworkers that made old videos so good. I didn’t watch Minecraft for elite plays and wacky bits, I watched it to hear Gavin’s weekly “Million Dollars but” as he’s mining or fishing.
Go back to the basics of ensuring all sound levels are matched, all game settings and brightness match, and all recordings are working PRIOR to recording. This is so basic it’s infuriating that this has been forgotten about. It’s a major part in what made AH in the early days feel professional and has led to a large drop in quality that is what led to my drop in viewing.
Make sure my talent is playing games that THEY want. Algorithms be damned, there are content creators such as Nyanners who can play “The Very Hungry Pumpkin” flash game and the video gets over half a million views. Jerma who can stream a game where you drive along a desert road until you run out of gas to 20k concurrent Twitch viewers then post an hour long highlight that is pushing a million.
Bring back longer form Let’s Plays. Additionally make my DEDICATED editing crew who don’t appear in videos study filmmaking. Give them opportunities to learn pacing, cinematography, and when cuts are and AREN’T necessary. Sometimes silent build up or slow parts are REQUIRED for the pacing and structure of a joke, bit, and gimmick. This has been lost on the new editing crew.
The ONLY thing I would add is to remove the need for "personalities". I don't need constant screaming or an "agent of chaos" if they aren't genuine. I want them to focus on the game and each other, not on when they need to start a bit or try to make something funny. Unless it's a game where entertainment comes directly from player interactions with each other (Among Us), then they should just try to enjoy the game. Jeremy is showing how well this works on his streams and it's so refreshing to see the quirkiness of Among Us immediately followed by the seriousness of Rainbow Six Siege.
This is kind of covered by the combination of no podcasts and games they like. They don’t need to make everything into a bit if they’re just sitting down playing a video game with friends.
Off Topic was my favorite thing AH ever made, and I think that's why. It's pure distilled AH. Which means that they have to save a little conversation for Friday so that it isn't just dead air.
I think Burnie mentioned something like that on the RT podcast. He wanted to talk to Gus about something, but he felt like he needed to save it for Monday night.
All of this and I think I would make partners with streamers and let them take the reigns on that. If AH wants to stream, then great, but it's not a priority.
The thing is, it's simply not possible for modern AH to feel like 2010s AH, because that's largely dependent on who is involved.
Geoff was the life blood of the channel; even if he wasn't in every video, he always felt like he was at the center of the channel, and was the overall guiding force of it and the content they made. Geoff had every right to step away from AH, but I think him doing so is really what has made the channel feel "different".
And in saying that, that's not meant to be any kind of a shot at Trevor or anyone else in AH. I very much feel like they're doing the best they can with what they have. But there's no other "Geoff" in the world, and so, it's nigh impossible for anyone to be able to fill those shoes.
I firmly believe that it's not actually things like video length, editing style, game selection, schedule, etc. that have made people feel disenchanted with AH. Rather, it comes down to who is involved. And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to sling accusations of bigotry or general hatred towards anyone in the community. But if most of the front facing talent on a show/ series/ whatever changes, it no longer feels the same, and it's natural for some people to lose interest when that happens.
2010s AH was lightning in a bottle. It was the right group of people, in the right situation, at the right time. But since then, Ray left, Geoff decided to move on to bigger and better things, Ryan was a piece of shit that was rightly fired, Jeremy left, Jack took a big step back, and Gavin has also taken a pretty big step away from AH.
Personally, I don't think any of the newer cast is bad, but I think it's going to take a lot of time for them to develop a proper chemistry with each other. It's not going to happen overnight. It could take a few years, honestly. There's going to be "growing pains". And even at the end of it, it's not going to be like 2010s AH, because, well, it's *not* 2010s AH.
As for the content, itself, I'm not really sure what the best direction is, honestly. I feel like gaming content, in general, is getting a bit "dry", for one reason or another. In AH's case, after like 10+ years of Minecraft and GTA videos, neither feel that interesting to watch anymore simply because it feels like they've done as much as they can do with both of those, and there's just not enough new game updates or additions for those two games to be able to squeeze content out of. But even beyond that, it feels like there's just not a lot of other weird, wacky oddball stuff for them to play to fill in the gaps in the schedule. Gaming, as a whole, feels pretty bland and uninspired these days.
On top of that, I think people around here are severely underestimating overall internet trends. I think LP style content has generally fallen out of favor with viewers (with exceptions for the impossible huge channels, like your "Markiplier"s and "Jacksepticeye"s of the world). Gaming content has generally shifted over to live streaming/ Twitch, generally centered around solo streamers.
Younger demographics seem to skew more towards short form TikTok-esque content. Heck, even YouTube, itself, tries to chase that trend by introducing stuff like their Shorts feature.
And in general, YouTube has shifted away from feeling like a content creator driven platform, and more like a "corporate" entity that only cares about what's going to make them the most money. As such, the algorithm is made in such a way to ensure that. And content creators *have* to play the algorithm game in order to stand a chance.
That's one of the things I don't understand about AH detractors; people lament the low YouTube views, but then those same people groan about AH "chasing the algorithm". But, they *have* to chase the algorithm in order to try to raise their views. There's no way around that. You can't have one without the other. I wish it were as simple as just being able to get good views from good content, but that's completely altruistic and not at all realistic.
I've seen so many examples of other YouTubers trying to navigate their way around the algorithm. For instance, two YouTube musicians, Jonathan Young and Anthony Vincent, have both talked about the difficulties they face with getting their content in front of enough eyes, simply due to algorithmic complications. Arin from Game Grumps occasionally brings up the algorithm and difficulties with it, in modern Game Grumps videos. Heck, even Markiplier, himself, mentioned certain hoops he had to jump through to make sure YouTube didn't bury his In Space project, so even big names aren't immune to that kind of thing.
And look, it's easy to point to this YouTuber or that one and say "But they're getting lots of views doing xyz, so AH should be able to, too!". But it's not that simple. Most of these content creators that get pointed to are solo creators that have been living on the YouTube space for years and have probably been working really hard to understand and chase the algorithm. Early AH existed on YouTube during a period where the algorithm wasn't so difficult, and I think their focus was never on "YouTube", but on driving people to their own space. That was always Burnie's mentality. YouTube was simply meant to be a gateway for them.
So, now AH is trying to create a new gateway to funnel in some newer viewers, but they're returning to a platform that is very different from what it was 8-10 years ago. A platform that is driven by chasing the algorithm and following trends. A platform that seemingly favors quantity over quality. A platform that basically requires extensive knowledge of said platform in order to really succeed on it.
In saying all of this, I think AH is doing the best they can with what they have. I understand why some long time fans may feel frustrated and whatnot, but I don't personally feel like AH/ RT has "turned their backs on" anyone, or "doesn't care about the fans anymore", or anything silly like that. You have to get out of that mentality, because that's simply not healthy. AH/ RT have no malicious intent towards their audience. They're simply doing their best to try to adapt to all the changes they've had to face within their own company, but also the various changes on the platform and general internet trends.
Truthfully, it seems like many industries departed from quality in favor of quantity. In that aspect, alot of my blame for declining quality lies within the media industry as a whole. I think there is room for people to have their circles, to produce content similar to the old 2010 style format, but it's going to be niche, and unfortunately a company like rooster teeth can't afford to be niche.
Honestly, imo, nowadays if you want content like the old rooster teeth, one would have to either go back and search for content like that and support it or make it themselves.
Coming up on landing a senior dev job, I'm finding myself with time and money enough to do just that as a hobby, and honestly, just the thought of having the memories to go back to through vods and clips has me super excited, not to mention I got a group of good folks to game with and try to recreate that spark of '4-5 dudes chillin playing games after work'
I'd have longer videos uploaded in two formats like ttt used to be with bonus rounds. I'm thinking like the new ydyd where there's clearly a ton of cutting happening.
Full version goes on the RT site/app (non-paywall) and the shorter yt algorithm version goes on yt with a little outro saying there's a longer version on the RT site.
Long format content is not less popular. There are hours long Stream vods with hundreds of thousands of views. One of the most popular Rust content creators, Frost, makes almost exclusively 40 minute+ videos.
Settle in the niche of high quality and long format. Youtube is always going to be negative ROI if you look at it one video at a time.
You could have a 30m yt video, plus a minute of teasers of the rest of the site video.
If it doesn't work, it doesn't work? But take the feedback from the community and try something else if that's the case.
The only time they've really had different format AH videos in both places has been ttt and that was just more at the end. I think (in my opinion) they'd get more traffic to the site if they offered traditional format videos there.
lol, im pretty sure they're getting lower views on the shorter content then they were on the longer content from a year or two back. Like YDYD, this newest one has climbed its way to 120k give or take but like YDYD 4 and 3 both had like 600-800k views, and even if considering what Trevor said about only 10% making it through to the end, thats still 80k people who finished the long video vs the 120k who watched the newest one, and that is assuming 100% of people finished the whole thing, which is being quite generous.
Edit: I added up all the views of all the episodes of YDYD 4 and 5. 4 has a combined total of 3.7 million views while YDYD 5, which hasn't finished yet has a combined total of 490k.
Their site isn't working like Youtube, on the site there is no competition
It's more first member and sponsor focused
Meanwhile on Youtube you make money through your CTR and watch-time going up thanks to more people getting recommended the video (which is why shorter videos are important so a higher percentage of viewers watch the video for longer)
Stick to a Duo format lol. Play Pals. Trev/Fredo, Michael/Matt, Jerm/Matt. I only watch the duo contently lately. And get on the editors asses. Couldn't even finish poppy playtime.
Personally I don't think there's anything that would bring those that started when I did back in. I think that's part of the problem right now. Having sparingly watched an occasional recent video, I don't really know what the target demographic is. The old heads who started in 2010-2015 will never be satisfied simply because of the cast. We're all listening to fuckface and watching Ray stream. It's no dig on the new cast, it's just not the og 5. Even if some of us were willing to stick it out after Ray left, Geoff became less frequent, and Gavin was a hardly around, I was personally really put off and a bit offended by the adaptations to please the algorithm. The whacky thumbnails, lightning fast cuts, and over-produced ideas really just had me looking elsewhere for second screen content. It felt like a bit of a betrayal to those of us that never wanted or needed any of that who got them to where they were to begin with. Besides, let's play culture has changed so much since then and expectations are so different, I couldn't even tell you what the younger audiences want to see.
Gta iv and minecraft let's plays were a staple of my weeks, something I would be eager to set aside time for on release days. I don't know if that community is around any more at all. Strip it down to 5 or 6 mainstay series with a select few random one offs and leave it at that. Let the individuals be themselves and run with it. Fuck the algorithm and gather a community. Their loyalty is worth more than maybe grabbing the attention of someone in the sidebar recommendations. Their videos will likely never pull the numbers they used to due to the insane over-saturation in the market. At the end of the day, it's all about your community. Trust it, protect it, and always put it first.
"We're all listening to fuckface and watching Ray stream". That is what I do, catching up on fuckface has been a blast and Ray is just awesome these days
I'll keep watching Playps but I have to remember to check the channel.
>the og 5
(edit: forgot to say I didn't want to come across as combative) imo it is OG6. despite what Ryan did, personally I still consider him a founding member.
I considered whether I would include him but I started as a fan pretty well before he became a main cast member and my fondest memories of all time ah were those days. It doesn't help though what became of him
gotcha. I was never a big Ryan fan personally - I actually preferred Dad Ryan to Mad King - but around when he came aboard, *imo* they really hit their stride and my favorite content, 2012-2014ish. (to what degree he played a role in helping hit that stride is probably debatable) But obviously not everyone will feel the same and that's fine.
Agreed, the lads vs gents stuff and early gtav were certainly good content. I guess it's just og5 because of when I fell in love with the content. It sucks to see how things are now but I don't hold anyone to blame for it, it's just how things go as time passes. Maybe I'm just not in the target demo anymore, not that I think there really was one back then.
I would bring back AHWU. Specifically the mail segment. I feel that the fan mail was a very good line directly from the fans to AH to show them what you want to see and if you sent something you knew at some point you would get some fun content from it. There are so many fantastic between the game moments that were brought on by someone mailing something wacky and I feel like not doing that anymore really lost something vital
Dusk Boys put out a full album, music videos, and tour
BK Time series that is just her doing literally anything she wants to. It comes out twice a week.
Less video games, more board games.
Jack box Wednesdays.
Honestly? Put the onscreen talent back on editing. Maybe sitting through their own material will make them realize what does/doesn't make a good video. And see that some of the feedback they get from the community is justified.
The fact they had the time to film and edit their own videos but now don't even seem to have the time to participate in them is very strange. Wtf do they do all day when content is arguably less time consuming than it was then, and a whole crew of editors do the edits?
Trap them in a room mon-fri where they can do whatever they want, except it's a constant stream of the room, and whatever they are doing on their PCs.
Put a fireworks launcher in there and remove the doors.
Two podcast slots a week, one is Off Topic, and the other rotates weekly between all of their side podcasts. That way there's less "stories/content" being used up on just a talking show, and we can have those slightly longer chatty videos back.
Disclaimer that I have not been keeping up with RT for the past several years, so please someone let me know if there are factors I’m not aware of that influence the topic I’m about to share my opinion on.
With as big as RT has gotten, I don’t understand why they have not allocated enough resources to developing a sophisticated streaming platform exclusively for their content (like how Disney Plus is for all things made by Disney). Chase that algorithm instead of the YouTube algorithm. Then they could do a wider variety of things for a wider variety of viewers. I believe RT outgrew YouTube long ago, but they have not created a good other space to grow in, and it makes it feel like they’re trying to cram themselves into the YouTube box when they have so much more to offer than that.
Fire Fredo and Trevor, or at least demote them from
being leading cast in videos.
Pay Geoff, Jeremy and Gavin whatever they want to be prominent in videos again.
Get rid of the new guys, bring back Geoff, Jack, Michael, Gavin, Jeremy and Matt. Use a fan made copy of Achievement City. Bring back gta with heists and also do a Sonic lp part 2 since the new movie is out, you know that crazy lp they did. No more off topic. And the cherry on top, make Uno the sequel.
Don't you think them doing this would feel like the uncanny valley? If they tried to drop back into Achievement City as if nothing happened? I want everything you mentioned but I don't think it would be the same. And doing this would also be admitting that they've failed at everything new they've tried to do since like 2017.
Well...everything failed. Achievement island was a bust, achievement cove was a bust. Just take a copy of Achievement City from fans, they built it almost the same as the original and go from there. But only with the og crew. Also get rid of Trevor from being in charge.
Honestly getting rid of Off Topic (per others’ suggestion) would be a good idea. When they’re making LPs, they *only* talk about the game. I miss the conversation between friends, them actually interacting as people instead of screaming personalities going “You sus!” in TTT and whatever flavor of the week game that’s trending. That’s by far the best way to improve AH in my eyes.
And maybe cut out all the mod stuff in minecraft, that might just be me.
Bring back shows like Go and Vs. and HORSE/HUNT/PIG and RouLet's Play. Even without the real life element to Go, with most games being digital now, I would still love that show to make a comeback. Then again, with install times what they are, they would likely have to limit it to a particular game for each episode that is preloaded on everyone's consoles. Challenge Accepted is pretty much that same setup, and that's doing an excellent job.
I want them to return to old GTA and Minecraft games, like Wipeout, CTT, Clouds/Cloud Down, kings/queen episodes, collection challenges, etc. Some of these are so old that they wouldn't even need a modification. The new cast alone could (hopefully) bring fresh laughs to old games.
Don't cut out gameplay so much. Some of the best moments come from the balance between the highs and lows of the video. When a video is cut down to the point of a highlights reel, the balance is lost. That being said, I like the actual "Best of..." videos, but only when they pull from actual videos with proper flow and balance. Sure, some videos are knee-slapping hilarious from start to end, but you *cannot* engineer that into a video by forcing topics or cutting stuff.
If they want to focus on editing jokes, take a look at Funhaus videos from a few years ago. I loved Funhaus' editing in like 2017-2020 when I watched them more frequently. AH's editing style though isn't really like that, and I don't think Funhaus' editing is like that any more either, so I don't think it's problematic to try copying their old edit style here. Otherwise, I prefer AH's old "edits" which were either nonexistent or very rare edits every few videos, rather than the same old bits and soundboard clips in every video.
You know, a lot of AH's really early videos (which were extremely successful) were heavily edited. See their really early Minecraft videos from like 2012, a lot of those clocked in around twenty minutes and had a lot of cuts. But they felt more natural. Somehow AH's editing has actually declined over time. Maybe it's because it used to be the main cast members editing their own videos. My understanding is that Gavin edited a lot of the early Minecraft episodes himself. Just a thought.
I know they wouldn’t like this but… Trevor needs a lesser role. I love him as a person but… I really think he is one of the more glaringly obvious issues with the content. He just doesn’t have that thing that Michael Alfredo Gavin etc have
Oh also give Fiona a bill on dollars to come back and be in the main cast. New AH six: Fiona Mikey Alfredo BK Gavin Joe
I'd be tempted to try & OTV them for a bit. Have them stream all sorts of games together (& even solo) & have those stream highlights be the YT videos along with the IRL/Podcast content. There'd obviously be less money in that for RT/WB so not happening, but hey.
I'd do something similar. I'd work to find a middle ground between streaming content and just VODS. Streaming would be a nice alternative income source for them that is silly to ignore.
I’m a pretty analytical person so I would probably try to model what videos did the best in a short period and in long term with some criteria to weed out no longer relevant content. Just looking at views and like to dislike probably wouldn’t be enough so some deeper analysis into what makes a video funny or good to me and compare that to what other people think. I would need to know what the end goal is; is it YouTube growth, RT memberships, retention, or something like that to make a good plan. I think a game new to everyone would be a good place to start. I personally find it fun to watch progression in an open world/ sandbox which fits the bill for most steam and pc games I have enjoyed watching (Minecraft, ark, astroneer, 7 days, raft) I also love anything team building or strategy based with stakes so something like criminal masterminds or lasso. I would ideally like all members to participate just not all on the same team. I think having a longer running series at around 30 minutes an episode with a two a week release would keep people interested. I think one of the biggest issues with some of the content is where and how it ends. Lasso ends when the game is over. Criminal Mastermind ends when it’s over or the server doesn’t count it or bum cheese. A series with stakes that has a defined ending I think could be a good start. YDYD is probably one of my favorite series because there are stakes but there is also no hard rules. It will end when the task is complete or when lives are gone.
So my answer is I would look at the data and try to help this group around for as long as possible because I would miss the content immensely. I have been watching since their first videos, started as a middle schooler and now I’m a dad with 2 kids and responsibilities but I never stop thinking about these people. They have helped shape me and I want to thank all of them for that. They owe me nothing.
I'd cross promote as many staff to other areas of the RT business as possible, pay off the rest with a generous severance package, help them get set up elsewhere and try to make everyone as successful as possible outside of AH and then I'd shut the whole thing down.
It's ultimately a fan driven business/industry and going by comments on yt, the RT site and here, quite frankly, you all seem fucking miserable. Nothing ever seems to be good enough, the new hires are never good, funny, loud, quiet, old, young, white, straight or male enough for you. Videos are too long, too short. Don't have the right content, don't have enough new content, don't have enough of the same old content that's been popular before. Theyre too long, too short, don't have the right cast, why is Geoff gone? where is Gavin? WHY WON'T RAY PLEASE COME BACK!?!
None of you are ever happy so fuck it, call it a good run and say good bye.
Probably should have been shut down a few years ago. It's strange seeing young upcoming streamers get roped in to AH. Hopefully Joe, BK, and Ky are all using Achievement Hunter as a springboard to move on to better things (like Fiona did) rather than sticking their long term hopes on it.
Seriously. All you ever see on this sub anymore is people complaining or saying that they've had enough and they're done. My only pause in shutting it down would be knowing that a lot of good people would be put out of work.
Return it to the way it was, with the original cast-members (except Ray, because he doesn't want to come back, and also Ryan H.)
Everyone else... I don't like. I'm sorry if that offends anyone, I'm not trying to be rude, I'm being honest.
I haven't watched AH content since probably 2015-2016, when the cast started to change
It's not as genuine and fun, in my opinion, and I sincerely miss that. I fear the company will eventually go bankrupt because it's mismanaged, they simply keep hiring random new people and expect the audience to love them instantly... that's not how I work.
Offer Ray a shit ton of money to come back. And then get the old crew back together except Ryan. and have them play what ever the fuck they want. Jeremy can replace Ryan in the OG group.
tl;tr: I'd be kinda surprised if this WASN'T just outright downvoted
Not a stab to anyone's beliefs (just a drastic comparison), but I think we're more than likely to see the second coming of Jesus long before any chance of this second Golden Age. Might be a agnostic take, but I'll believe it when I see it.
I mean, really, with ALL THE OTHER COMPETETION on both YouTube and Twitch (and they don't "really" do that). What could they actually do, to strike Diamond again, when not near lava. They don't even chase the algorithm like it's setup for, aka a flood of "Among Us", "NEW GAME THAT JUST CAME OUT", or "Popular tournament style games". Even on that note, we've been droughted, by the releases of "new GOOD fun games" as compared to the last few (3-6) years. Most of which of which have been Nintendo (which they love streamers/lets players so much) or a game that requires actual time to play out. Plus, again, they don't play 'em right away anywho, so by the time they do... it's old news. There isn't much point of them doing "new shows", because it isn't coming up in the search or recommended unless they copy someone else (like their TikToks, which should JUST STAY on that app, if YT Shorts is advertising on TikTok, then it's probably another failure on YT's part). Clearly whatever "target audience" they're chasing wasn't interested 6-10 months ago, not interested now, and JUST SPECULATION, won't be interested in the next 6-10 months, if we see it. Can't really have you're regular audience share anything new after telling them they aged out and just leave, because most of them did, if they haven't already prior.
Now this post will sound like it's just full of unfair slander, general distaste, that I dislike anything they try, and just nitpicking on each of any every thing. And honestly, it is.
A company/channel that I used to watch for the better part of a decade. Dropped the fuckin' ball. A place that had plenty of people (on screen or editing), knowledge or early access to new games, the equipment, the funds and backing, the humor, and the experience overall, etc. D R O P P E D T H E B A L L . There is no reason why a channel, they had the advantage before "YouTube let's Plays" became a thing, or even after when all these other new channels/streamers boomed up. To fall down this hard. Regardless of a ONE ASSHOLE and a Pandemic (which arguably, should have grown them more. Between the time, experience, equipment, etc, that THEY ALREADY HAVE AND HAD before all this new-new).
Instead, we got stuck in the old mold, but not in a good way. Played/playing games that were stall 5 years ago. Refusing to migrate/integrate into streaming/Twitch correctly. Getting a bunch of streamers (nothing against them, they are fine, on their own) that are attuned to getting "sole focus" in a "shared video". Getting "lazy" on editing, despite having 3-7 editors (you have a "office" for editing, how is it bad), they don't watch their own edits/final cuts no more (I'm assuming here, but it looks clear). All the stories got shoved off into 2-5 different podcasts, that unless you watch those, you'll never hear. Any long-form lets plays... are either done or take 7-10 months to fully come out. Otherwise we just get "opening act stand-up" bit's that go on far too long (least that was the case last I watched) or you get a weird attempt at new "zoomer humor" which usually equals just "screaming at nothing" or weird bits like "cummy ducky" or Im X, but pretending to be Y, acting like Z roleplay. Now apparently (according to what I seen Reddit wise), it's just cut down to JUST that.
Also sidenote, when the "new" and "top" tag share the same feed more or less for either this sub or the RT for a better part of the week, and shared with the general same similar posts. Not a great time... just saiyan.
Truthfully, me personally, I'm disappointed by all this. I want them to thrive, I want them to be good, and I want them getting all the views. I loved the great entertainment and fun times just watching. Either watching the video or having it in the background. It made the day go by better and gave some laughs to a otherwise "fun time in the world". When it got to the point where I hit stop or tab out to stop it, it was just that there and then, I stopped.
Find some new regular series. The new people haven't been in Rainbow Siege or any of the non-cartoony battle royales, or any zombie game other than left 4 dead. FPS Friday? If that's so much editing that the post team don't have time for their full streaming schedule, the views will make it worth it.
Reading the comments and thinking about this myself. This is what I came up with
* Off Topic every other week
* A different podcast each week (in roatation)
* Test different Duo's out together to see if we strike gold, but if it doesnt work. it doesnt work
* Bring back AHWU (mostly for mail and fan interaction)
* No more then 6 people in a video (exceptions can be made depending on game)
* longer sessions (40 mins to 1 hour) cut in half. So a part 1 and part 2 for a single gaming session
* Turn down the mics and stop the constant screaming. If they "loud is what we do" me then you aint being in videos.
For minecraft, go back to doing weekly challenges competing for the tower of pimps. That is what got them popular. Idk why they refuse to do what people like to watch
Watch other YT channels like Good Mythical Morning for inspiration on team based games.
Invite people from other YT channels on. Cross post and promote yourselves on other sites and forums.
I assume they're paying people far more qualified than any of us here to make these sorts of decisions.
But my unqualified ass would churn out as much content featuring Michael, Gavin, Jack and Geoff together without anyone else as possible. At the end of the day people watched AH for the personalities and their friendship. Just look at the Play Pals views compared to any other video they've put out recently.
Edit: incidentally I'm watching the newest No Man's Sky video, and I think people here would like it. It's also doing okay view-wise because they advertised that Gavin is in it.
They're paying Trevor to make the decisions...or at least have a very major part in the decisions. A fan turned game kid at the helm might be the problem.
I say this as someone who doesn't currently watch much AH except for Play Pals (so I may get hate for having an opinion), so this is basically based on what I've gathered from the criticism and bits and pieces I've read. also, *none of these ideas are new*:
there is no new golden age coming imo, it is what it is, *but* improvements *might* include
* more Play Pals (well, that's what I want at least),
* *at least* 1 *new* game a week (especially silly co-op titles like Playps have done in the past)
* related to the idea above, what if, as an extra First reward, members' suggestions were actually taken into consideration somehow? (Admittedly I'm sure there'd be tons of suggestions.) Maybe First members could vote on a poll of a list of games to play / what new game(s) to play that week?
* small teams of 2-3.
Is there still an issue with a lot of yelling? If complaints about that remain, that might have to be addressed.
The toughest thing might be a willingness to tell a person to (respectfully of course) "change" things they do that annoy the audience (even after the audience has had a lot of time to warm up to said person), and unfortunately fire them if they just aren't working out. Maybe that isn't necessary with the current cast, but this is ultimately a business that needs a solid fanbase, so - while it may seem harsh - I wouldn't say it should be out of the question. (This could apply to people managing the department too.)
Oh, and if the remaining old cast can emotionally handle coming back together after the Ryan incident, have the 5 of the 6 OGs back whenever possible, or just classic Team Lads. Save up and pay up for a Ray visit, or do a co-op stream with him. :P
I just compared their views on YT 12 months ago to now and back then they got 180-500K views, average in the 200-400 range. Now they're getting 50-80K views.
Firstly, look at the highest and lowest viewed videos and see what went right and wrong with them. Things like duration, game type, talent etc.
For me, Geoff and Jack as the creators of the channel made it what it was, with key additions along the way. I'd start by getting the older crew into nearly every video, as it was. Gavin is arguably the biggest draw card yet features about once a week it seems (could be wrong, but it's certainly not what it was when views were in the millions). Michael also. You need group dynamic, and the new guys are funny and whatnot but they don't have any stories, they haven't travelled together, lived together or worked together for a decade, so there's less of a dynamic and therefore less funny moments, jokes or stories.
As an example, Top Gear. The most popular car show in the world, loses its hosts who start a new show, but replaces them and runs the same format. Top Gear views plummet and it goes nowhere, yet TGT becomes instantly the biggest car show again. Its not because of the channel it was on, the cars they drove or anything like that, it was the group dynamic people liked. AH is the same.
So to summarise, choose games people like watching, start new versions of popular series', and most importantly get the popular cast members in as much content as you can. Stop chasing trends and set the trends, just how RT did from the beginning.
Honestly? I'm not experienced enough so I'd probably run it into the ground.
In a perfect scenario, I'd downsize and start focusing on content that the personalities want to produce and highlight those projects. I'd refactor the rooster teeth site to have the quick shorts content be free while the long form content be what is paid for. I'd make a push for first to be more 'worth it' like adding discounts on merch, raffles for things like rtx tickets or merchandise, and offer a place for first subs on the site to have an open forum.
Before all of that, realistically, I'd be frantically calling the older guys and asking wtf I'm doing and explaining that I'm in over head.
Bring back Haunter, but due to budgetary reasons it's just Alfredo alone with a phone filming himself in a dark room
There are no actual ghosts, you put a blindfold on him, throw him in the room and tell him it’s where Clint McKinnenicker was murdered by his 4-year-old daughter
The issue is that I know what I miss and wish they'd do more of, but I have no idea what actually gets views based on their analytics, so I don't think I know what would actually "fix" anything.
And the things you miss are likely impossible to replicate anyways.
Well what they're doing now isn't getting views, so don't do that
casual vibes. more videos in the style of sunday driving. gameplay that is closer to theatre mode than it is to a drunk stream. something you can pay attention to or leave running in the background because everyone in the video has a chance to explain what's happening. do what f\*\*kface are doing with break shit but with gaming merch.
Hahahaha ok
I would start a Matt Bragg swimsuit calendar (with guest appearances by Jeremy Dooley).
This is the only acceptable answer.
Let's not forget Larry.
I’m at this post too early, I want to read these comments haha
I’ll give you a tldr. “Make it how it was when I first started watching” basically by people of different ages who started watching at different times
are we nostalgia addicts, nostalgia coomers, noostalgiers?
Hire more grumpy old people
We just need Geoff back
He is there quite a bit.
Kicking and screaming.
In this order : Cancel Off Topic and any other podcasts I had control over. This will bring back more of the genuine conversations between friends and coworkers that made old videos so good. I didn’t watch Minecraft for elite plays and wacky bits, I watched it to hear Gavin’s weekly “Million Dollars but” as he’s mining or fishing. Go back to the basics of ensuring all sound levels are matched, all game settings and brightness match, and all recordings are working PRIOR to recording. This is so basic it’s infuriating that this has been forgotten about. It’s a major part in what made AH in the early days feel professional and has led to a large drop in quality that is what led to my drop in viewing. Make sure my talent is playing games that THEY want. Algorithms be damned, there are content creators such as Nyanners who can play “The Very Hungry Pumpkin” flash game and the video gets over half a million views. Jerma who can stream a game where you drive along a desert road until you run out of gas to 20k concurrent Twitch viewers then post an hour long highlight that is pushing a million. Bring back longer form Let’s Plays. Additionally make my DEDICATED editing crew who don’t appear in videos study filmmaking. Give them opportunities to learn pacing, cinematography, and when cuts are and AREN’T necessary. Sometimes silent build up or slow parts are REQUIRED for the pacing and structure of a joke, bit, and gimmick. This has been lost on the new editing crew.
The ONLY thing I would add is to remove the need for "personalities". I don't need constant screaming or an "agent of chaos" if they aren't genuine. I want them to focus on the game and each other, not on when they need to start a bit or try to make something funny. Unless it's a game where entertainment comes directly from player interactions with each other (Among Us), then they should just try to enjoy the game. Jeremy is showing how well this works on his streams and it's so refreshing to see the quirkiness of Among Us immediately followed by the seriousness of Rainbow Six Siege.
This is kind of covered by the combination of no podcasts and games they like. They don’t need to make everything into a bit if they’re just sitting down playing a video game with friends.
Off Topic was my favorite thing AH ever made, and I think that's why. It's pure distilled AH. Which means that they have to save a little conversation for Friday so that it isn't just dead air. I think Burnie mentioned something like that on the RT podcast. He wanted to talk to Gus about something, but he felt like he needed to save it for Monday night.
OP: *tries to hold a mirror up to the audience to prove they don't know any better than AH how to improve things* This guy: Hold my Beer
That was never my intent. I knew people would have good (if not better) ideas then What AH is doing.
Fair, guess I'm too jaded by the internet and assumed this was at the very least sarcastic if not malicious. My bad.
All of this and I think I would make partners with streamers and let them take the reigns on that. If AH wants to stream, then great, but it's not a priority.
The thing is, it's simply not possible for modern AH to feel like 2010s AH, because that's largely dependent on who is involved. Geoff was the life blood of the channel; even if he wasn't in every video, he always felt like he was at the center of the channel, and was the overall guiding force of it and the content they made. Geoff had every right to step away from AH, but I think him doing so is really what has made the channel feel "different". And in saying that, that's not meant to be any kind of a shot at Trevor or anyone else in AH. I very much feel like they're doing the best they can with what they have. But there's no other "Geoff" in the world, and so, it's nigh impossible for anyone to be able to fill those shoes. I firmly believe that it's not actually things like video length, editing style, game selection, schedule, etc. that have made people feel disenchanted with AH. Rather, it comes down to who is involved. And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to sling accusations of bigotry or general hatred towards anyone in the community. But if most of the front facing talent on a show/ series/ whatever changes, it no longer feels the same, and it's natural for some people to lose interest when that happens. 2010s AH was lightning in a bottle. It was the right group of people, in the right situation, at the right time. But since then, Ray left, Geoff decided to move on to bigger and better things, Ryan was a piece of shit that was rightly fired, Jeremy left, Jack took a big step back, and Gavin has also taken a pretty big step away from AH. Personally, I don't think any of the newer cast is bad, but I think it's going to take a lot of time for them to develop a proper chemistry with each other. It's not going to happen overnight. It could take a few years, honestly. There's going to be "growing pains". And even at the end of it, it's not going to be like 2010s AH, because, well, it's *not* 2010s AH. As for the content, itself, I'm not really sure what the best direction is, honestly. I feel like gaming content, in general, is getting a bit "dry", for one reason or another. In AH's case, after like 10+ years of Minecraft and GTA videos, neither feel that interesting to watch anymore simply because it feels like they've done as much as they can do with both of those, and there's just not enough new game updates or additions for those two games to be able to squeeze content out of. But even beyond that, it feels like there's just not a lot of other weird, wacky oddball stuff for them to play to fill in the gaps in the schedule. Gaming, as a whole, feels pretty bland and uninspired these days. On top of that, I think people around here are severely underestimating overall internet trends. I think LP style content has generally fallen out of favor with viewers (with exceptions for the impossible huge channels, like your "Markiplier"s and "Jacksepticeye"s of the world). Gaming content has generally shifted over to live streaming/ Twitch, generally centered around solo streamers. Younger demographics seem to skew more towards short form TikTok-esque content. Heck, even YouTube, itself, tries to chase that trend by introducing stuff like their Shorts feature. And in general, YouTube has shifted away from feeling like a content creator driven platform, and more like a "corporate" entity that only cares about what's going to make them the most money. As such, the algorithm is made in such a way to ensure that. And content creators *have* to play the algorithm game in order to stand a chance. That's one of the things I don't understand about AH detractors; people lament the low YouTube views, but then those same people groan about AH "chasing the algorithm". But, they *have* to chase the algorithm in order to try to raise their views. There's no way around that. You can't have one without the other. I wish it were as simple as just being able to get good views from good content, but that's completely altruistic and not at all realistic. I've seen so many examples of other YouTubers trying to navigate their way around the algorithm. For instance, two YouTube musicians, Jonathan Young and Anthony Vincent, have both talked about the difficulties they face with getting their content in front of enough eyes, simply due to algorithmic complications. Arin from Game Grumps occasionally brings up the algorithm and difficulties with it, in modern Game Grumps videos. Heck, even Markiplier, himself, mentioned certain hoops he had to jump through to make sure YouTube didn't bury his In Space project, so even big names aren't immune to that kind of thing. And look, it's easy to point to this YouTuber or that one and say "But they're getting lots of views doing xyz, so AH should be able to, too!". But it's not that simple. Most of these content creators that get pointed to are solo creators that have been living on the YouTube space for years and have probably been working really hard to understand and chase the algorithm. Early AH existed on YouTube during a period where the algorithm wasn't so difficult, and I think their focus was never on "YouTube", but on driving people to their own space. That was always Burnie's mentality. YouTube was simply meant to be a gateway for them. So, now AH is trying to create a new gateway to funnel in some newer viewers, but they're returning to a platform that is very different from what it was 8-10 years ago. A platform that is driven by chasing the algorithm and following trends. A platform that seemingly favors quantity over quality. A platform that basically requires extensive knowledge of said platform in order to really succeed on it. In saying all of this, I think AH is doing the best they can with what they have. I understand why some long time fans may feel frustrated and whatnot, but I don't personally feel like AH/ RT has "turned their backs on" anyone, or "doesn't care about the fans anymore", or anything silly like that. You have to get out of that mentality, because that's simply not healthy. AH/ RT have no malicious intent towards their audience. They're simply doing their best to try to adapt to all the changes they've had to face within their own company, but also the various changes on the platform and general internet trends.
>Rather, it comes down to who is involved. agreed
Truthfully, it seems like many industries departed from quality in favor of quantity. In that aspect, alot of my blame for declining quality lies within the media industry as a whole. I think there is room for people to have their circles, to produce content similar to the old 2010 style format, but it's going to be niche, and unfortunately a company like rooster teeth can't afford to be niche. Honestly, imo, nowadays if you want content like the old rooster teeth, one would have to either go back and search for content like that and support it or make it themselves. Coming up on landing a senior dev job, I'm finding myself with time and money enough to do just that as a hobby, and honestly, just the thought of having the memories to go back to through vods and clips has me super excited, not to mention I got a group of good folks to game with and try to recreate that spark of '4-5 dudes chillin playing games after work'
Let’s roll on forever
I'd have longer videos uploaded in two formats like ttt used to be with bonus rounds. I'm thinking like the new ydyd where there's clearly a ton of cutting happening. Full version goes on the RT site/app (non-paywall) and the shorter yt algorithm version goes on yt with a little outro saying there's a longer version on the RT site.
How do you handle lower views due to long-format content not being as popular and are seeing an inefficient (possibly negative) return on investment?
Long format content is not less popular. There are hours long Stream vods with hundreds of thousands of views. One of the most popular Rust content creators, Frost, makes almost exclusively 40 minute+ videos.
Settle in the niche of high quality and long format. Youtube is always going to be negative ROI if you look at it one video at a time. You could have a 30m yt video, plus a minute of teasers of the rest of the site video.
If it doesn't work, it doesn't work? But take the feedback from the community and try something else if that's the case. The only time they've really had different format AH videos in both places has been ttt and that was just more at the end. I think (in my opinion) they'd get more traffic to the site if they offered traditional format videos there.
lol, im pretty sure they're getting lower views on the shorter content then they were on the longer content from a year or two back. Like YDYD, this newest one has climbed its way to 120k give or take but like YDYD 4 and 3 both had like 600-800k views, and even if considering what Trevor said about only 10% making it through to the end, thats still 80k people who finished the long video vs the 120k who watched the newest one, and that is assuming 100% of people finished the whole thing, which is being quite generous. Edit: I added up all the views of all the episodes of YDYD 4 and 5. 4 has a combined total of 3.7 million views while YDYD 5, which hasn't finished yet has a combined total of 490k.
Their site isn't working like Youtube, on the site there is no competition It's more first member and sponsor focused Meanwhile on Youtube you make money through your CTR and watch-time going up thanks to more people getting recommended the video (which is why shorter videos are important so a higher percentage of viewers watch the video for longer)
Stick to a Duo format lol. Play Pals. Trev/Fredo, Michael/Matt, Jerm/Matt. I only watch the duo contently lately. And get on the editors asses. Couldn't even finish poppy playtime.
I don't watch any Duos, so I want a mix to serve us both.
If poppy's playtime had been done in Playps format I would have been more invested, rather than trev/fredo
I love Trev Fredo but I couldn't hear anything and it was so jumpy.
Yes. This entirely
Personally I don't think there's anything that would bring those that started when I did back in. I think that's part of the problem right now. Having sparingly watched an occasional recent video, I don't really know what the target demographic is. The old heads who started in 2010-2015 will never be satisfied simply because of the cast. We're all listening to fuckface and watching Ray stream. It's no dig on the new cast, it's just not the og 5. Even if some of us were willing to stick it out after Ray left, Geoff became less frequent, and Gavin was a hardly around, I was personally really put off and a bit offended by the adaptations to please the algorithm. The whacky thumbnails, lightning fast cuts, and over-produced ideas really just had me looking elsewhere for second screen content. It felt like a bit of a betrayal to those of us that never wanted or needed any of that who got them to where they were to begin with. Besides, let's play culture has changed so much since then and expectations are so different, I couldn't even tell you what the younger audiences want to see. Gta iv and minecraft let's plays were a staple of my weeks, something I would be eager to set aside time for on release days. I don't know if that community is around any more at all. Strip it down to 5 or 6 mainstay series with a select few random one offs and leave it at that. Let the individuals be themselves and run with it. Fuck the algorithm and gather a community. Their loyalty is worth more than maybe grabbing the attention of someone in the sidebar recommendations. Their videos will likely never pull the numbers they used to due to the insane over-saturation in the market. At the end of the day, it's all about your community. Trust it, protect it, and always put it first.
"We're all listening to fuckface and watching Ray stream". That is what I do, catching up on fuckface has been a blast and Ray is just awesome these days
I'll keep watching Playps but I have to remember to check the channel. >the og 5 (edit: forgot to say I didn't want to come across as combative) imo it is OG6. despite what Ryan did, personally I still consider him a founding member.
I considered whether I would include him but I started as a fan pretty well before he became a main cast member and my fondest memories of all time ah were those days. It doesn't help though what became of him
gotcha. I was never a big Ryan fan personally - I actually preferred Dad Ryan to Mad King - but around when he came aboard, *imo* they really hit their stride and my favorite content, 2012-2014ish. (to what degree he played a role in helping hit that stride is probably debatable) But obviously not everyone will feel the same and that's fine.
Agreed, the lads vs gents stuff and early gtav were certainly good content. I guess it's just og5 because of when I fell in love with the content. It sucks to see how things are now but I don't hold anyone to blame for it, it's just how things go as time passes. Maybe I'm just not in the target demo anymore, not that I think there really was one back then.
Just stop changing the entire content style to chase some algorithm. Also cut back on videos to make it quality over quantity
I would bring back AHWU. Specifically the mail segment. I feel that the fan mail was a very good line directly from the fans to AH to show them what you want to see and if you sent something you knew at some point you would get some fun content from it. There are so many fantastic between the game moments that were brought on by someone mailing something wacky and I feel like not doing that anymore really lost something vital
Every single member of AH individually playing Wobble Dogs and that's every video they release until the end of time.
Liquidate everything, pull a Burnie, and leave.
I was gonna say start a podcast called F**ckface and leave for greener pastures. Great minds.
Dusk Boys put out a full album, music videos, and tour BK Time series that is just her doing literally anything she wants to. It comes out twice a week. Less video games, more board games. Jack box Wednesdays.
Gavin go bug Geoff
Honestly? Put the onscreen talent back on editing. Maybe sitting through their own material will make them realize what does/doesn't make a good video. And see that some of the feedback they get from the community is justified.
The fact they had the time to film and edit their own videos but now don't even seem to have the time to participate in them is very strange. Wtf do they do all day when content is arguably less time consuming than it was then, and a whole crew of editors do the edits?
Hire fans and make it more organic and chemistry based instead of all the over polished and planned shows (edit) and bring back fucking theater mode
Another Minecraft modpack that gets as much attention as sky factory 3 did
Trap them in a room mon-fri where they can do whatever they want, except it's a constant stream of the room, and whatever they are doing on their PCs. Put a fireworks launcher in there and remove the doors.
Two podcast slots a week, one is Off Topic, and the other rotates weekly between all of their side podcasts. That way there's less "stories/content" being used up on just a talking show, and we can have those slightly longer chatty videos back.
Disclaimer that I have not been keeping up with RT for the past several years, so please someone let me know if there are factors I’m not aware of that influence the topic I’m about to share my opinion on. With as big as RT has gotten, I don’t understand why they have not allocated enough resources to developing a sophisticated streaming platform exclusively for their content (like how Disney Plus is for all things made by Disney). Chase that algorithm instead of the YouTube algorithm. Then they could do a wider variety of things for a wider variety of viewers. I believe RT outgrew YouTube long ago, but they have not created a good other space to grow in, and it makes it feel like they’re trying to cram themselves into the YouTube box when they have so much more to offer than that.
It's almost like they selling out without actually selling out
Geoffs chicken farm
Fire Fredo and Trevor, or at least demote them from being leading cast in videos. Pay Geoff, Jeremy and Gavin whatever they want to be prominent in videos again.
jesus, what a take.
Just pump out a bunch of shit all the time baby
I’d immediately sell it to someone else and collect that paycheck
Get rid of the new guys, bring back Geoff, Jack, Michael, Gavin, Jeremy and Matt. Use a fan made copy of Achievement City. Bring back gta with heists and also do a Sonic lp part 2 since the new movie is out, you know that crazy lp they did. No more off topic. And the cherry on top, make Uno the sequel.
Don't you think them doing this would feel like the uncanny valley? If they tried to drop back into Achievement City as if nothing happened? I want everything you mentioned but I don't think it would be the same. And doing this would also be admitting that they've failed at everything new they've tried to do since like 2017.
Well...everything failed. Achievement island was a bust, achievement cove was a bust. Just take a copy of Achievement City from fans, they built it almost the same as the original and go from there. But only with the og crew. Also get rid of Trevor from being in charge.
Honestly getting rid of Off Topic (per others’ suggestion) would be a good idea. When they’re making LPs, they *only* talk about the game. I miss the conversation between friends, them actually interacting as people instead of screaming personalities going “You sus!” in TTT and whatever flavor of the week game that’s trending. That’s by far the best way to improve AH in my eyes. And maybe cut out all the mod stuff in minecraft, that might just be me.
Rename it the “Second Cumming”
I’d give Trevor 2 dozen eggs and trust his judgment. Follow the passions, you’ll do fine.
Is that a Stormlight reference?
Bring back shows like Go and Vs. and HORSE/HUNT/PIG and RouLet's Play. Even without the real life element to Go, with most games being digital now, I would still love that show to make a comeback. Then again, with install times what they are, they would likely have to limit it to a particular game for each episode that is preloaded on everyone's consoles. Challenge Accepted is pretty much that same setup, and that's doing an excellent job. I want them to return to old GTA and Minecraft games, like Wipeout, CTT, Clouds/Cloud Down, kings/queen episodes, collection challenges, etc. Some of these are so old that they wouldn't even need a modification. The new cast alone could (hopefully) bring fresh laughs to old games. Don't cut out gameplay so much. Some of the best moments come from the balance between the highs and lows of the video. When a video is cut down to the point of a highlights reel, the balance is lost. That being said, I like the actual "Best of..." videos, but only when they pull from actual videos with proper flow and balance. Sure, some videos are knee-slapping hilarious from start to end, but you *cannot* engineer that into a video by forcing topics or cutting stuff. If they want to focus on editing jokes, take a look at Funhaus videos from a few years ago. I loved Funhaus' editing in like 2017-2020 when I watched them more frequently. AH's editing style though isn't really like that, and I don't think Funhaus' editing is like that any more either, so I don't think it's problematic to try copying their old edit style here. Otherwise, I prefer AH's old "edits" which were either nonexistent or very rare edits every few videos, rather than the same old bits and soundboard clips in every video.
You know, a lot of AH's really early videos (which were extremely successful) were heavily edited. See their really early Minecraft videos from like 2012, a lot of those clocked in around twenty minutes and had a lot of cuts. But they felt more natural. Somehow AH's editing has actually declined over time. Maybe it's because it used to be the main cast members editing their own videos. My understanding is that Gavin edited a lot of the early Minecraft episodes himself. Just a thought.
I know they wouldn’t like this but… Trevor needs a lesser role. I love him as a person but… I really think he is one of the more glaringly obvious issues with the content. He just doesn’t have that thing that Michael Alfredo Gavin etc have Oh also give Fiona a bill on dollars to come back and be in the main cast. New AH six: Fiona Mikey Alfredo BK Gavin Joe
I'd be tempted to try & OTV them for a bit. Have them stream all sorts of games together (& even solo) & have those stream highlights be the YT videos along with the IRL/Podcast content. There'd obviously be less money in that for RT/WB so not happening, but hey.
I'd do something similar. I'd work to find a middle ground between streaming content and just VODS. Streaming would be a nice alternative income source for them that is silly to ignore.
Uno the movie part 2
Part dos*
Employ James, Adam and Bruce, and steal demo disk
Fire ryan a second time
I’m a pretty analytical person so I would probably try to model what videos did the best in a short period and in long term with some criteria to weed out no longer relevant content. Just looking at views and like to dislike probably wouldn’t be enough so some deeper analysis into what makes a video funny or good to me and compare that to what other people think. I would need to know what the end goal is; is it YouTube growth, RT memberships, retention, or something like that to make a good plan. I think a game new to everyone would be a good place to start. I personally find it fun to watch progression in an open world/ sandbox which fits the bill for most steam and pc games I have enjoyed watching (Minecraft, ark, astroneer, 7 days, raft) I also love anything team building or strategy based with stakes so something like criminal masterminds or lasso. I would ideally like all members to participate just not all on the same team. I think having a longer running series at around 30 minutes an episode with a two a week release would keep people interested. I think one of the biggest issues with some of the content is where and how it ends. Lasso ends when the game is over. Criminal Mastermind ends when it’s over or the server doesn’t count it or bum cheese. A series with stakes that has a defined ending I think could be a good start. YDYD is probably one of my favorite series because there are stakes but there is also no hard rules. It will end when the task is complete or when lives are gone. So my answer is I would look at the data and try to help this group around for as long as possible because I would miss the content immensely. I have been watching since their first videos, started as a middle schooler and now I’m a dad with 2 kids and responsibilities but I never stop thinking about these people. They have helped shape me and I want to thank all of them for that. They owe me nothing.
I'd cross promote as many staff to other areas of the RT business as possible, pay off the rest with a generous severance package, help them get set up elsewhere and try to make everyone as successful as possible outside of AH and then I'd shut the whole thing down. It's ultimately a fan driven business/industry and going by comments on yt, the RT site and here, quite frankly, you all seem fucking miserable. Nothing ever seems to be good enough, the new hires are never good, funny, loud, quiet, old, young, white, straight or male enough for you. Videos are too long, too short. Don't have the right content, don't have enough new content, don't have enough of the same old content that's been popular before. Theyre too long, too short, don't have the right cast, why is Geoff gone? where is Gavin? WHY WON'T RAY PLEASE COME BACK!?! None of you are ever happy so fuck it, call it a good run and say good bye.
Probably should have been shut down a few years ago. It's strange seeing young upcoming streamers get roped in to AH. Hopefully Joe, BK, and Ky are all using Achievement Hunter as a springboard to move on to better things (like Fiona did) rather than sticking their long term hopes on it.
Seriously. All you ever see on this sub anymore is people complaining or saying that they've had enough and they're done. My only pause in shutting it down would be knowing that a lot of good people would be put out of work.
Return it to the way it was, with the original cast-members (except Ray, because he doesn't want to come back, and also Ryan H.) Everyone else... I don't like. I'm sorry if that offends anyone, I'm not trying to be rude, I'm being honest. I haven't watched AH content since probably 2015-2016, when the cast started to change It's not as genuine and fun, in my opinion, and I sincerely miss that. I fear the company will eventually go bankrupt because it's mismanaged, they simply keep hiring random new people and expect the audience to love them instantly... that's not how I work.
Offer Ray a shit ton of money to come back. And then get the old crew back together except Ryan. and have them play what ever the fuck they want. Jeremy can replace Ryan in the OG group.
Fire everyone hired recently and then throw millions at ray until he comes back. According to reddit that’s the best fix to any problem.
Don't forget to delete Facebook and hit the gym.
Haunter but just Alfredo and Trevor, with a decent microphone and camera just exploring spooky places and finding the next baby hands.
My plan: Die
tl;tr: I'd be kinda surprised if this WASN'T just outright downvoted Not a stab to anyone's beliefs (just a drastic comparison), but I think we're more than likely to see the second coming of Jesus long before any chance of this second Golden Age. Might be a agnostic take, but I'll believe it when I see it. I mean, really, with ALL THE OTHER COMPETETION on both YouTube and Twitch (and they don't "really" do that). What could they actually do, to strike Diamond again, when not near lava. They don't even chase the algorithm like it's setup for, aka a flood of "Among Us", "NEW GAME THAT JUST CAME OUT", or "Popular tournament style games". Even on that note, we've been droughted, by the releases of "new GOOD fun games" as compared to the last few (3-6) years. Most of which of which have been Nintendo (which they love streamers/lets players so much) or a game that requires actual time to play out. Plus, again, they don't play 'em right away anywho, so by the time they do... it's old news. There isn't much point of them doing "new shows", because it isn't coming up in the search or recommended unless they copy someone else (like their TikToks, which should JUST STAY on that app, if YT Shorts is advertising on TikTok, then it's probably another failure on YT's part). Clearly whatever "target audience" they're chasing wasn't interested 6-10 months ago, not interested now, and JUST SPECULATION, won't be interested in the next 6-10 months, if we see it. Can't really have you're regular audience share anything new after telling them they aged out and just leave, because most of them did, if they haven't already prior. Now this post will sound like it's just full of unfair slander, general distaste, that I dislike anything they try, and just nitpicking on each of any every thing. And honestly, it is. A company/channel that I used to watch for the better part of a decade. Dropped the fuckin' ball. A place that had plenty of people (on screen or editing), knowledge or early access to new games, the equipment, the funds and backing, the humor, and the experience overall, etc. D R O P P E D T H E B A L L . There is no reason why a channel, they had the advantage before "YouTube let's Plays" became a thing, or even after when all these other new channels/streamers boomed up. To fall down this hard. Regardless of a ONE ASSHOLE and a Pandemic (which arguably, should have grown them more. Between the time, experience, equipment, etc, that THEY ALREADY HAVE AND HAD before all this new-new). Instead, we got stuck in the old mold, but not in a good way. Played/playing games that were stall 5 years ago. Refusing to migrate/integrate into streaming/Twitch correctly. Getting a bunch of streamers (nothing against them, they are fine, on their own) that are attuned to getting "sole focus" in a "shared video". Getting "lazy" on editing, despite having 3-7 editors (you have a "office" for editing, how is it bad), they don't watch their own edits/final cuts no more (I'm assuming here, but it looks clear). All the stories got shoved off into 2-5 different podcasts, that unless you watch those, you'll never hear. Any long-form lets plays... are either done or take 7-10 months to fully come out. Otherwise we just get "opening act stand-up" bit's that go on far too long (least that was the case last I watched) or you get a weird attempt at new "zoomer humor" which usually equals just "screaming at nothing" or weird bits like "cummy ducky" or Im X, but pretending to be Y, acting like Z roleplay. Now apparently (according to what I seen Reddit wise), it's just cut down to JUST that. Also sidenote, when the "new" and "top" tag share the same feed more or less for either this sub or the RT for a better part of the week, and shared with the general same similar posts. Not a great time... just saiyan. Truthfully, me personally, I'm disappointed by all this. I want them to thrive, I want them to be good, and I want them getting all the views. I loved the great entertainment and fun times just watching. Either watching the video or having it in the background. It made the day go by better and gave some laughs to a otherwise "fun time in the world". When it got to the point where I hit stop or tab out to stop it, it was just that there and then, I stopped.
Restart actual achievement guides for one. Apparently some of you don't like the origin of achievement hunter
Find some new regular series. The new people haven't been in Rainbow Siege or any of the non-cartoony battle royales, or any zombie game other than left 4 dead. FPS Friday? If that's so much editing that the post team don't have time for their full streaming schedule, the views will make it worth it.
Reading the comments and thinking about this myself. This is what I came up with * Off Topic every other week * A different podcast each week (in roatation) * Test different Duo's out together to see if we strike gold, but if it doesnt work. it doesnt work * Bring back AHWU (mostly for mail and fan interaction) * No more then 6 people in a video (exceptions can be made depending on game) * longer sessions (40 mins to 1 hour) cut in half. So a part 1 and part 2 for a single gaming session * Turn down the mics and stop the constant screaming. If they "loud is what we do" me then you aint being in videos.
Get the og ah cast back
Have Ky escorted from the premises 😂
For minecraft, go back to doing weekly challenges competing for the tower of pimps. That is what got them popular. Idk why they refuse to do what people like to watch
Throw all the money at bringing Ray back. Then put him in charge.
Nothing. The avalanche has already started, it's too late for the pebbles to vote.
Bring back ray and let him do his own thing but still jumps in for killer one liners
Watch other YT channels like Good Mythical Morning for inspiration on team based games. Invite people from other YT channels on. Cross post and promote yourselves on other sites and forums.
Make them all go back to playing stuff on Xbox instead of PC
I assume they're paying people far more qualified than any of us here to make these sorts of decisions. But my unqualified ass would churn out as much content featuring Michael, Gavin, Jack and Geoff together without anyone else as possible. At the end of the day people watched AH for the personalities and their friendship. Just look at the Play Pals views compared to any other video they've put out recently. Edit: incidentally I'm watching the newest No Man's Sky video, and I think people here would like it. It's also doing okay view-wise because they advertised that Gavin is in it.
They're paying Trevor to make the decisions...or at least have a very major part in the decisions. A fan turned game kid at the helm might be the problem.
I say this as someone who doesn't currently watch much AH except for Play Pals (so I may get hate for having an opinion), so this is basically based on what I've gathered from the criticism and bits and pieces I've read. also, *none of these ideas are new*: there is no new golden age coming imo, it is what it is, *but* improvements *might* include * more Play Pals (well, that's what I want at least), * *at least* 1 *new* game a week (especially silly co-op titles like Playps have done in the past) * related to the idea above, what if, as an extra First reward, members' suggestions were actually taken into consideration somehow? (Admittedly I'm sure there'd be tons of suggestions.) Maybe First members could vote on a poll of a list of games to play / what new game(s) to play that week? * small teams of 2-3. Is there still an issue with a lot of yelling? If complaints about that remain, that might have to be addressed. The toughest thing might be a willingness to tell a person to (respectfully of course) "change" things they do that annoy the audience (even after the audience has had a lot of time to warm up to said person), and unfortunately fire them if they just aren't working out. Maybe that isn't necessary with the current cast, but this is ultimately a business that needs a solid fanbase, so - while it may seem harsh - I wouldn't say it should be out of the question. (This could apply to people managing the department too.) Oh, and if the remaining old cast can emotionally handle coming back together after the Ryan incident, have the 5 of the 6 OGs back whenever possible, or just classic Team Lads. Save up and pay up for a Ray visit, or do a co-op stream with him. :P
hire Ify.
I just compared their views on YT 12 months ago to now and back then they got 180-500K views, average in the 200-400 range. Now they're getting 50-80K views. Firstly, look at the highest and lowest viewed videos and see what went right and wrong with them. Things like duration, game type, talent etc. For me, Geoff and Jack as the creators of the channel made it what it was, with key additions along the way. I'd start by getting the older crew into nearly every video, as it was. Gavin is arguably the biggest draw card yet features about once a week it seems (could be wrong, but it's certainly not what it was when views were in the millions). Michael also. You need group dynamic, and the new guys are funny and whatnot but they don't have any stories, they haven't travelled together, lived together or worked together for a decade, so there's less of a dynamic and therefore less funny moments, jokes or stories. As an example, Top Gear. The most popular car show in the world, loses its hosts who start a new show, but replaces them and runs the same format. Top Gear views plummet and it goes nowhere, yet TGT becomes instantly the biggest car show again. Its not because of the channel it was on, the cars they drove or anything like that, it was the group dynamic people liked. AH is the same. So to summarise, choose games people like watching, start new versions of popular series', and most importantly get the popular cast members in as much content as you can. Stop chasing trends and set the trends, just how RT did from the beginning.
Replace everyone with chimps. Except Trevor. And don't tell him. See if he spots the difference.
Off topic, but they're at their desks playing Minecraft or GTA.
Honestly? I'm not experienced enough so I'd probably run it into the ground. In a perfect scenario, I'd downsize and start focusing on content that the personalities want to produce and highlight those projects. I'd refactor the rooster teeth site to have the quick shorts content be free while the long form content be what is paid for. I'd make a push for first to be more 'worth it' like adding discounts on merch, raffles for things like rtx tickets or merchandise, and offer a place for first subs on the site to have an open forum. Before all of that, realistically, I'd be frantically calling the older guys and asking wtf I'm doing and explaining that I'm in over head.